Thika company to get a Sh. 862m loan from IFC to restructure operations

Blue Nile Rolling Mills Limited, is set to get a Sh. 862 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to restructure its operations and fund the construction of a galvanised wire plant.

The company, which manufactures the Kifaru brand of steel products, plans to raise Sh. 1.5 billion aimed at setting up Kenya’s first galvanisation wire manufacturing plant in Nairobi, capable of producing 26,580 tonnes per annum.

The Thika-based plant currently produces its steel and wire products. It has a capacity to produce 100,000 metric tonnes of steel products and 15,700 metric tonnes of wire products.

The construction of the galvanised wire plant has since been completed and the factory has started production. Blue Nile launched operations in 2006 by acquiring a steel wire product manufacturing facility in Kikuyu.

In 2016, the company began exporting its products to Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.