Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered India’s Tata Chemicals to end its operations in the country, escalating a dispute over how much value the company’s century-old soda-ash business has created locally.

Ruto said Kenya plans to bring in new investors to replace Tata Chemicals and develop manufacturing industries around the mineral resources of Kajiado County, where the company operates.

Ruto targets Tata’s Magadi operations

Speaking during a visit to Kajiado in southern Kenya, Ruto criticized Tata Chemicals for extracting soda ash from Lake Magadi without building enough industrial capacity in the county.

“That Tata company … had that contract for 100 years. They have not built anything in Kajiado,” Ruto said. The president said the government would seek one company to establish a major glass manufacturing plant and another to produce chemicals in Kajiado.

The move follows a government suspension issued July 28 that halted Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited’s mining operations and soda-ash exports. Tata Chemicals later said it had submitted the documents requested by Kenya’s mining authorities and was awaiting further direction.

Tata Chemicals’ century-old Kenya business

Tata Chemicals Magadi has produced soda ash at Lake Magadi since 1911. The company describes the operation as Africa’s largest soda-ash manufacturing facility and one of Kenya’s leading exporters.

The operation extracts trona, a naturally occurring mineral containing sodium carbonate compounds, from deposits around Lake Magadi.

The soda ash is then transported by rail toward Mombasa for export. More than 95% of the company’s output has historically been exported to markets including Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa and the Middle East.

Tata Chemicals and the Tata Group

Tata Chemicals Limited, headquartered in Mumbai, India, is a global chemicals company producing products including soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, specialty nutrition products and advanced materials.

The company operates across India, the United Kingdom, the United States and Kenya. It is part of the Tata Group, the Indian conglomerate established in 1868 with businesses spanning multiple industries and international markets.

Tata Chemicals became part of the Magadi operation through its acquisition of Brunner Mond, with Tata Chemicals taking control of the business in the mid-2000s. The company has since positioned its global portfolio around core chemicals, sustainability and higher-value applications.

Ruto’s decision now puts the future of one of Kenya’s longest-running foreign-owned industrial operations in question, while opening the door for new investors to turn the country’s soda-ash resources into glass, chemicals and other manufactured products.