Nairobi — The economy has in the past five years registered impressive growth. This has translated into surging consumer demand and, inevitably, demand-push inflation.

Nowhere has this phenomenon manifested itself more than in the construction sector. Demand in the industry has pushed prices beyond the reach of most home-builders, a situation that is of mounting concern to both policy-makers and to ordinary Kenyans.

Early this week, President Kibaki, for the second time in his tenure, paid a visit to Devki Steel Mills Ltd for a ground-breaking ceremony for its National Cement Company.

We hope his evident interest signals the Government's concern over the looming crisis in the sector.

Demand for cement has risen sharply, from 1.2 million tonnes in 2001 to 2.5 million this year. This has stretched the installed capacity to the limit.

Fortunately, quite a number of new and old players are working to exploit the vast reserves of raw materials available for cement manufacturing.

In our view, as the domestic and regional economies expand, this capacity will come in handy. This is more so when it comes to keeping the price of cement within reach, especially as it is likely to pick up dramatically when demand for expanded infrastructure rises.

The Government should give incentives to all investors in the sector.

However, State intervention should not be confined to the cement industry.

The cost of hot-rolled metal is spiralling out of control. So is the cost of raw materials. The proper policy is to keep these building inputs affordable in coming years.