Kenya is set to construct a state of the art milk processing plant in Embu County. County Governor Wambora announced the reports and said that they chose Ugweri area due to its close proximity to major milk producing areas of the county.
The plant which is projected to step up efforts at value addition in the dairy sector will be constructed at a cost of US $3m. It will be set up on a 3.5-acre piece of land and will have a capacity of processing 48,000 liters of milk daily.
Modern milk processing plant
The plant will also process long life milk, fresh milk, yoghurt, mala, ghee and butter. The county government will deploy equipment for Ultra Heat Treatment (UHT) and Extended Shelf Life (ESL).
The facility will utilize the most current technology available in the market. It will be one of the newest processing facilities in the country. The county has already installed 13 coolers in collaboration with the national government and has pledged to install 10 more which will handle a capacity of 65,000 litres of milk.
The governor also expressed confidence that the plant will be capable to produce enough milk to supply pupils under the Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) in the entire county. The coolers are located in major dairy farming areas of the county and will supply milk to the processing plant at competitive prices.
Embu County is a big producer of dairy products in the Mt Kenya region. The county has in recent years expanded rapidly in tandem with the rising demand for processed milk driven by a growing middle class. The facility will also supply its branded polypack milk variants for consumers across Mt Kenya region.
