Displaying items by tag: Uganda
Ugandan cement producers blame shortage on power outages
06 April 2018Uganda: Tororo Cement and Hima Cement have blamed falling production on reduced electricity supplies. Morgan Gagranihe, the executive director of Tororo Cement, said that production from the company’s plant at Tororo had fallen by half to 0.6Mt/yr from 1.2Mt/yr, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper. However, local power company Umeme has rejected the claims. It suggested instead that the cement producers were prioritising cement production for large-scale customers.
Kenya: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has committed US$96m to invest in National Cement towards upgrading a cement plant and building new grinding plants. National Cement’s chairman and chief shareholder Narendra Raval is also expected to invest US$102m into the expansion project, according to the Daily Nation newspaper. The company intends to build two grinding plants in Kenya and Uganda and a new 5500t/day clinker production line at its existing integrated plant in Merrueshi in Kenya. It also plans to build a 8MW captive power plant at Merrueshi.
Kenya: Bamburi Cement’s turnover fell by 6% year-on-year to US$357m in 2017 from US$380m in 2016. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim attributed the decline to poor weather, a prolonged election period and lower construction activity, especially in the individual home builder segment, in Kenya. In Uganda it described the market as ‘broadly flat’ for both domestic and export sectors. The cement producer’s profit fell by 66.5% to US$19.6m from US$58.4m.
Chairman John Simba said, “While the 2017 results reflect a mixed performance in a challenging market environment, we remain positive that the market conditions in both countries will continually improve and rebound in line with the projected growth in both domestic and regional markets. The expected commissioning of the new capacity in the second half of 2018 will see the business enhance its market leadership position and underscores our belief in the growth of East African economies, underpinned by a robust construction industry.”
New cement plants in Uganda expected to swamp demand
09 January 2018Uganda: Three new cement plants or upgrades to existing plants opening in 2018 are expected to dwarf local demand. Hima Cement, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, plans to open a new 1Mt/yr grinding plant at Nyakesi, Tororo Cement is expanding its plant to 3Mt/yr and Kenya's National Cement is building a plant at Mbale, according to the Ugandan Independent newspaper. Following completion of the three projects local production capacity will rise to 6.8Mt/yr from 3.6Mt/yr. Local demand is 2.4Mt/yr.
Cement industry executives are expecting growth in the construction industry as the government starts infrastructure projects in the oil and gas sector. The cement producers also expect export markets to support local production capacity growth, particularly in South Sudan, western Kenya and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Sinoma to build US$500m cement plant in Uganda
31 July 2017Uganda: China National Materials Group (Sinoma) has signed an agreement with Tian Tang Group to build a US$500m cement plant at the Mbale Industrial Park. The project is part of a wider investment package to develop the site, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper. Sinoma requires assurances from the government that the site has sufficient reserves of limestone and a research trip has been scheduled for August 2017 to survey the proposed location of the plant.
Hima to supply big Chinese projects in Uganda
14 July 2017Uganda: Lafarge’s subsidiary in Uganda, Hima Cement, will provide raw materials for the ongoing infrastructure projects being undertaken by China Communications Construction Company Limited in the country under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Allan Ssemakula, the commercial director at Hima Cement said the firm will supply 30,000t of cement to the Entebbe Airport expansion project for a period of five years, 60,000t for the Mubende-Kakumiro-Kagadi road and 30,000t for the Soroti-Moroto road project for a period of three years.
“Hima Cement’s clients benefit from the technical expertise and product innovation that are the hallmark of LafargeHolcim Group. This Memorandum of Understanding is testament to our diverse product offerings and also avails solutions that fit the unique needs of our clients,” said Ssemakula.
Uganda: Two Kenyan nationals have been killed after a crane collapsed at an expansion project at Tororo cement. Three other workers were also severely injured in the incident, according to the New Vision newspaper. All the workers were working on behalf of a Kenyan construction contractor that is building the upgrade at the site.
Bamburi Cement builds profit in 2016 despite competition
10 March 2017Kenya: Bamburi Cement’s profit rose slightly to US$57.4m in 2016 from US$57.2m in 2015. Its operating profit rose by 8% to US$76.7m from US$70.9m. However, its turnover fell by 3% to US$371m from US$382m. It blamed the fall in turnover on high competition, particularly in the individual homebuilding market. It also reported a fall in sales volumes of cement although this was offset by infrastructure and contractor markets in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The cement producer added that the cement grinding plants it is building in Kenya and with its subsidiary Hima Cement in Uganda are on schedule to be completed in mid-2018.
Hima Cement to launch US$40m grinding plant in Tororo
19 January 2017Uganda: Hima Cement is set to launch its new grinding plant in Tororo. The 1Mt/yr plant at Nyakesi, Rubongi cost US$40m, according to the Ugandan Observer newspaper. The new unit is planned to meet demand for local infrastructure projects and for regional markets.
CBMI Construction wins two contracts with LafargeHolcim for grinding plants in Uganda and Kenya
14 December 2016Kenya/Uganda: CBMI Construction has signed two contracts with LafargeHolcim in Kampala for cement grinding plant projects in Uganda and Kenya. Bamburi Cement, LafargeHolcim’s subsidiary in Kenya, has ordered a 1Mt/yr grinding plant from CBMI. The plant will be located in Nairobi. Hima Cement, a joint venture LafargeHolcim is part of in Uganda, has ordered a 0.8Mt/yr grinding plant. It will be located in Tororo in the east of the country.
The scope of the projects covers clinker feeding to cement packing and shipping. These contracts will come into force after being signed, receiving of guarantees and CBMI’s receiving advance payments. Contract periods are 17.5 months after contracts coming into force to complete industrial tests, and 19 months to commissioning.
Attendees of the signing ceremony included the CEO of Bamburi Cement Bruno Pescheux, the CEO of Hima Cement Daniel Pettersson and the Regional Manager of CBMI Li Ming.