$30m for Tanzania cement production

 From right: South African High Commissioner to Rwanda George Nkosinati Twala, acting CEO of Rwanda Development Board Clare Akamanzi and Paul Stuive

By JOSEPH MWAMUNYANGE Special Correspondent

In Summary

• The firm plans to expand overall cement production capacity from 1.4 million tonnes to 2 million tonnes per year.
• The current expansion project includes increasing the capacity of the packaging line and dispatching section, and putting up a new clinker silo.

Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) has unveiled plans to invest $30 million to double its local manufacturing capacity and sales by the end of 2014.

The firm, listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) as Twiga Cement, plans to expand overall cement production capacity from 1.4 million tonnes to 2 million tonnes per year.

TPCC chairman Jean-Marc Junon said the firm is constructing another cement mill at Wazo Hill outside Dar es Salaam — which will be complete by September 2014 — in addition to the Tsh300 billion ($185 million) already spent on modernising the plant in Dar es Salaam.

The current expansion project includes increasing the capacity of the packaging line and dispatching section, and putting up a new clinker silo.

TPCC said it aims to reduce its prices, and export its products across the region.

The EAC region is upgrading its infrastructure, which should push up demand for cement as member countries invest in roads, ports and bridges, railway construction and energy projects.

“We have won the confidence of donors and investors; that is why we expect to have not less than 12 cement factories in the country,” said Minister for Industry and Trade Abdallah Kigoda.

Tanzania is set to more than double its cement production by 2015, when a $420 million cement factory set up by Nigeria-based conglomerate Dangote is completed.

READ: Dangote cement plant excites market

The projected capacity of the factory, to be built in Mtwara, southern Tanzania, is 3 million tonnes per year, and Dangote is looking to get a good chunk of the market share.

“We hope to push our production capacity to 50 million tonnes per annum within the next five years, based on its ongoing projects that are at various stages of completion,” Mr Kigoda said.

Currently, Tanzania has an estimated production capacity of three million tonnes per annum against a demand of 2.2 million per annum — shared mainly among big producers TPCC, Mbeya Cement Company Ltd and Tanga Cement Company.

TPCC is the country’s biggest producer of cement with a production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes per annum.

Comparatively, Tanga Cement has a capacity of 1.25 million tonnes per annum, while Athi River Mining Tanzania produces 750,000 tonnes per annum. Mbeya Cement plant has an installed capacity of 350,000 tonnes per annum.

Others firm that are also expected to expand are the Lake Zone Cement Company and Rhino Cement.