Athi River Mining opens new factory in Tanga

An ARM employee at the company's plant in Athi River. FILE PHOTO |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• The company said the factory, opened on Saturday, will boost its market share.
• ARM started construction of the plant in 2012.

By NATION CORRESPONDENT
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Athi River Mining Limited (ARM) has commissioned its Sh14.6 billion cement manufacturing plant in Tanga, Tanzania as part of the firm’s regional expansion strategy.

In a statement on Thursday, the company said the factory, opened on Saturday, will boost its market share.

ARM started construction of the plant in 2012.

“We want to be an East African Cement player as part of our company growth and expansion strategy,” ARM deputy managing director Surendra Bhatia said in the statement.

The plant has a production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of cement per year.

East Africa cement market is dominated by Lafarge at 27 per cent and Tororo Cement at 21 per cent.

ARM projects its share to grow from the current 15 to 18 per cent by 2017 with the new plant.

Regional per capita consumption of the building material averages 45 kilogrammes compared to Egypt’s 560, South Africa’s 230 and Angola which stands at 80 kilogrammes.