Displaying items by tag: Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Heidelberg Materials has agreed to divest its 91% stake in Cimenterie de Lukala, a cement producer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to WIH Cement Developing Company. The transaction comprises an integrated cement plant in Lukala, near the capital of Kinshasa. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Completion is expected in 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

Democratic Republic of Congo: The government banned new imports of cement into the country on 30 September 2023. Local press has reported that the measure aims to protect local cement production and to move the country away from its dependence on imports.

Kongo-Central provincial government spokesperson Anne-Marie Tsasa said “Despite this ban, the circulation and sale of said products is noted in Kongo-Central province. The services working at the borders are invited to fight against this fraudulent practice.”

Democratic Republic of the Congo: A trailer truck filled with bags of cement crashed into a ravine in the Kitokimosi district of Kinshasa on 21 April 2023, causing significant material damage. The vehicle had begun its journey in Kongo Central province and crashed at about 05:00. It is thought that brake failure may have been to blame. One person in the vehicle was taken to hospital with serious injuries, while the driver appears to have absconded. There have also been reports that the truck was looted in the aftermath of the incident.

Tanzania: Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) plans to expand the capacity of the 54,000t/yr port of Kasanga on Lake Tanganyika in Rukwa Region. Mbeya Cement Company exports 42,000t/yr of cement via its terminal at the port to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. The port has been undergoing a US$1.92m upgrade to raise its berths due to rising water levels in Lake Tanganyika since April 2019.

The port of Kasanga generates revenues of US$34,200/yr for the TPA, primarily from Mbeya Cement Company’s export operations.

East African: Kenya-based East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has announced plans for an international expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo. The planned expansion will accompany continued capital expenditure investment in the company’s existing Athi River cement plant in Kenya over the five-year period up to 2028.

CEO Oliver Kirubai said that EAPCC expects ultimately to ‘outgrow the regional cement market.’

Democratic Republic of Congo: Heidelberg Materials has appointed Abderrahim Touile as the plant manager of its Lukala cement plant, operated by local subsidiary Cimenterie de Lukala.

Touile previously worked as the Industry Director for Vicat in Mauritania. He also worked as production manager for Ciments de l'Afrique (CIMAF) in Burkina Faso. Before these roles he held production roles with Lafarge in Morocco and South Africa between 2002 and 2015. Amongst other business and management qualification, Touile holds as master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from the Sorbonne Business School in France.

Cameroon: The Cameroon Minister of Trade Luc-Magloire Mbarga has authorised cement producers and importers to begin importing more cement from Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in order to combat a local shortage. The Business in Cameroon newspaper has reported that Mbarga said that authorisation will operate temporarily, until high cement prices drop.

In 2021, Cameroon produced 4.5Mt of cement. Its domestic consumption was 4Mt, up by 14% year-on-year from 3.5Mt in 2021.

Tanzania: Burundi-based Intracom is planning to build a US$250m integrated cement plant in Kigoma Region. The project is intended to supply cement to the Lake Tanganyika region including Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the Daily News newspaper. Intracom Country Representative Rubenga Samson said that the company has obtained land in the region and construction is set to start soon. The project is reportedly using a loan from CRDB Bank to finance the project. The plant will have a cement and clinker production capacity of 0.6Mt/yr and 1Mt/yr respectively. Commissioning is scheduled for mid-2024. Intracom has also invested in a fertiliser project in Dodoma.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement has recorded nine-month sales of US$1.17bn in its 2022 financial year, up by 38% year-on-year from US$846m in the corresponding period of 2021. The company’s consolidated cement volumes fell by 7.1% to 7.07Mt, while its unconsolidated cement volumes fell by 3.4% to 5.51Mt. Unconsolidated costs per tonne of cement rose by 49%. Explaining its net sales growth, the company noted the ‘impressive’ performance of its overseas cement business, which includes a stake in Democratic Republic of Congo-based Nyumba Ya Akiba Cement. Lucky Cement’s profit after tax for the period was US$143m, up by 20% from US$119m.

Lucky Cement says that a cement plant expansion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is progressing and on-schedule for completion in 2022.

Kenya: Bamburi Cement’s net profit was US$11.9m in 2021, up by 22% year-on-year from 2020. The company attributed the growth to increased domestic selling prices in Kenya, due to a higher proportion of premium products sales and targeted price actions in the retail segment.

Managing director Seddiq Hassani said that he envisages cement demand growth in Bamburi Cement’s markets in the rest of 2022, supported by a stable economic environment. He looked optimistically to possible export growth arising from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s admission into the East African Community (EAC) in March 2022. He further noted the impact of the Rwanda-Uganda border closure as a downside risk.