Kampala — Sources in the construction and housing sector predict that cement prices will reduce significantly as more cement factories are built in the East African region. They also argue that the prices are likely to be stable this year, as compared to last year, when huge volatilities were encountered.

In 2012, two more cement manufacturers were sett up in Uganda. One was in Moroto (North Eastern Uganda) and is expected to produce 1,000,000 metric tones of cement annually. The second factory is being set up by Dao Group from Kuwait in the Eastern Uganda district of Budaka. This adds numbers to the two existing cement factories of Tororo (eastern Uganda) and Hima found in Kasese Western Uganda.

"The prices will go down if the new plants start producing cement as we expect.

"Member states within the EAC are also increasing cement production like in Kenya," said a source at Arab construction, a Kampala based construction firm.

He added that this can be achieved if the shilling remains strong against the dollar because cement companies import some of their raw materials from abroad.

Hima Cement Uganda General Manager Mr. David Njoroge told East African Business Week that the company has enough cement that was produced in the year 2012 and it was not consumed by the booming construction sector.