Displaying items by tag: Zambia
Zambia: The Ventriglia family has been awarded full ownership of Zambezi Portland Cement by the High Court of Zambia. The resolution follows a 10-year battle between the Ventriglias and businessman Rajan Mahtani, according to the Times of Zambia. Mahtani’s company Finsbury Investments claimed a majority share in the cement producer but the Ventriglia family objected, asserting full ownership of the company.
Zambia: Weye Construction Materials has submitted plans to the Zambia Environmental Management Agency to build a 1Mt/yr cement plant in Chilanga district. The investment for the proposed project, including quarry and full clinker production line, has been set at the low value of US$45m.
According to the application the project will build a raw material mill single–stage cyclone pre-heater, a coal-fired rotary kiln and a packaging unit. Bag filters will be used for dust recovery at the bagging facility and material transfer points. Electrostatic precipitators will be installed for gas cleaning to avert nuisances from the kiln. WEYE added that the project would also create 555 jobs.
WEYE Construction Materials is owned by two Chinese shareholders: Zhang Yiwei and Lu Qiang. It is a subsidiary of China’s Weye Construction Group, based in Jiangsu province and established in 1999.
ZCCM-Investment Holding to start building US$680m cement plant in Zambia later in 2018
06 March 2018Zambia: ZCCM-Investment Holding, an investment company owned by the Zambian government plans to start work on a US$680m cement plant later in 2018. ZCCM-Investment Holding chief executive officer Pius Kasolo said that drilling tests had been completed at the site, according to the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper. Construction of the plant is expected to take two to three years once the finance for the project is secured and feasibility studies are completed.
Court sets date for end of Zambezi Portland Cement case
19 January 2018Zambia: The High Court of Zambia has set 25 February 2018 as the date it will hand down a judgement on a case involving Zambezi Portland Cement (ZPC) between businessman Rajan Mahtani and the Vetriglia family. The case concerns a battle over the shares and management of the company between Mahtani and members of the Vetriglia family, according to the Times of Zambia. Mahtani originally attempted to close the company in 2015 but the original owners resisted the attempt. However, Mahtani maintains that he holds a majority share in the cement producer.
Lafarge Zambia fined for market abuse
20 December 2017Zambia: The Board of Commissioners of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has fined Lafarge Zamiba over US$19,000 for abusing loyalty discount schemes, price discrimination and excessive pricing. The fine represents 10% of its annual turnover in 2012, according to the Times of Zambia newspaper. It follows an investigation in the cement producer from mid-2013 following accusations of ‘persistent’ price rises.
The CCPC says that Lafarge Zambia’s pricing policy discriminated the domestic market against the export market and particularly distorted the sector in Lusaka. It has ordered the company to cease and desist such behaviour and to report to the board in early 2018 regarding how it is complying with the ruling.
Lafarge Zambia operates two cement plants in the country. It says it made revenues of US$171,000 in 2016.
Dangote Cement strikes deal with Zambia Railways
10 October 2017Zambia: Dangote Cement Zambia has contracted Zambia Railways to transport 2000t/month of cement and 500t/month of coal. Zambia Railways is transporting cement from Ndola to Lusaka and coal from Batoka to Ndola on behalf of Dangote Cement, according to the Times of Zambia newspaper. The cement producer operates a 1.5Mt/yr integrated plant in the country with 1200 employees and a fleet of over 500 trucks. It also runs a 30MW coal power plant.
LafargeHolcim deal boosts freight rates for Zambia Railways
19 September 2017Zambia: A contract with LafageHolcim has boosted Zambia Railways freight rate by 28% year-on-year to 318,000t in the first half of 2017 from 247,000t in the same period of 2016. The railway company attributed the increase to a new contract with LafargeHolcim, according to the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper. It also cited rising coal imports from Zimbabwe for ‘booming’ cement production in Zambia, as well as more business in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Dangote targeting 1Mt of Zambian sales in 2017
08 August 2017Zambia: Dangote Industries Limited says it will continue to penetrate the Zambian cement industry and is targeting 1Mt of sales by the end of 2017. This follows record sales of 0.3Mt of cement during the first six months of 2017.
Country CEO Desmond Maharaj said that Dangote would look to spread its influence in more Zambian provinces going forward. He added that export markets such as Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo and the great lakes region were also attractive, hence leading to the company to produce more cement from its Zambian operations.
Zambia and Sinoconst to build US$548m cement plant
10 July 2017Zambia: President Edgar Lungu has launched a US$548m cement plant project to be built in Ndola by the government and China’s Sinoconst. The plant will be a joint venture between the government-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM) and Sinoconst, according to Reuters. The project is intended to diversify the country’s industries away from copper mining. The unit will have a cement production capacity of 5000t/day and will use two 20MW captive coal-power plants.
Lafarge Zambia pushes cement exports in 2016
20 March 2017Zambia: Lafarge Zambia’s export volumes of cement and clinker rose by 53% year-on-year in 2016. Domestic sales volumes fell by 42%, its sales revenue fell by 43% to US$93,000 and its profit before tax dropped significantly to US$13,000. The cement producer added that power supply issues had adversely impacted production costs at its Chilanga and Ndola plants. The company is positive in its outlook for 2017 and it is supplying building materials to large infrastructure projects including the Kafue Gorge Lower and Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.