Displaying items by tag: Mbeya

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.

Tanzania: Mbeya Cement, part of LafargeHolcim Tanzania, has launched Lafarge Tembo Pozzi, a pozzolana-based cement product. It is intended to replace imports of fly ash, according to the Daily News newspaper. At present the country imports 40,000t/yr of fly ash for the construction industry.

Tanzania: Kibo Mining has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mbeya Cement, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, to collaborate regionally and to share materials in the Mbeya and Songwe regions. The agreement includes arrangements to supply coal, limestone, fly ash, electricity and cement between the parties. It also includes plans to bring together local development bodies to develop the region.

Kibo Mining operates a thermal coal deposit at Mbeya and it is developing a 250 – 350MW coal power plant at the site with the help of Chinese contractors.

Tanzania: Mbeya Cement, a LafargeHolcim subsidiary, has launched a higher strength cement and stated that its production capacity will triple to 1.1Mt/yr at the end of October 2015. The company, which is 35% locally-owned, said that the cement 'Tembo Supaset 42.5' is used by civil contractors and pre-casters.

Lafarge Tanzania's CEO Catherine Langreney said that the product specifically addresses the needs for block making, concrete mix, mega-structures and high visibility infrastructure projects like bridges, roads and stadiums. "This brand is the result of almost one year of careful research and development by our cement technical experts," said Langreney. "Supaset CEM II is a specially-formulated Portland composite cement that is engineered to meet the fast-setting requirements of block makers."

The introduction of Supaset is likely to assist Mbeya Cement to increase its market share in the block making segment, improve customer satisfaction with Lafarge brands and reinforce its position as a leader in innovation within the Tanzanian construction industry. Langreney said that, before the end of 2015, Mbeya Cement will launch two new innovative products to meet demand of fast growing construction industry and the economy at large.

To cater for future demand, Mbeya Cement plans to start a new vertical grinding production plant, the first in sub-Sahara Africa, at the end of October 2015. "The new 700,000Mt/yr plant will elevates our capacity to 1.1Mt/yr," said Langreney.

Tanzania: Tanzania expects to double its cement production to 6Mt/yr in the next few years as new plants are commissioned to meet demand from the construction sector, according to comments made in parliament by Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade, Janet Mbene. Tanzania's cement output rose by 18.9% in 2013 to slightly above 3Mt due to higher demand. Mbene said the rise in output would mean Tanzania would produce a surplus to be exported.

Cement producers currently operating in the country include Tanzania Portland Cement - a subsidiary of Heidelberg Cement, Tanga Cement – a subsidiary of Afrisam Mauritius Investment Holdings and Mbeya Cement – a subsidiary of Lafarge. Lake Cement and Lee Cement Factory are the two newest entrants in Tanzania's cement manufacturing and marketing sector with their core products under brand names of Nyati cement and Kilwa cement respectively. Dangote is also building a 3Mt/yr cement plant in Mtwara Region.

Tanzania: Mbeya Cement Lafarge Tanzania has inaugurated a new bag filter which significantly reduces the stack emissions to meet the national and international standards.

The new bag filter, inaugurated on 13 December 2013 at Songwe in Mbeya, reduces the stack emissions to 10mg/m3 which is lower than the 2013 Tanzania Environmental Regulations of 50mg/m3 and is in line with the Lafarge Industrial targets as well as the global environmental standards.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Lafarge Tanzania's Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Langrency said that the company has invested US$2.06m in the project. "The inauguration of this bag filter further underlines Lafarge Tanzania's commitment to continuous improvement as part of the Lafarge Group Sustainability Ambition 2020, which is to have responsible and environmentally friendly operations," Langrency said.

Lafarge Tanzania plans to increase its cement capacity in Tanzania to 700,000t/yr by adding a new cement mill, a clinker line upgrade and a new packing plant. Project completion is expected in the second quarter of 2015.

Tanzania: The East Africa Cement Producers Association (EACPA) has opposed a proposal by Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) to increase power tariffs by 68%, citing the risk of 'significant' rises in cement production costs.

The association also claimed that its members are already penalised by the costs related to power rationing, adding that cement producers recorded 1782 power rationing cases between 2012 and 2013.

"We strongly oppose any increase on the power supply tariff by Tanesco and request an urgent solution for the deficient service provided. Should the proposal be accepted, it would have a direct impact on the Tanzanian cement industry production costs up to US$0.71/bag. This amount will be 100% charged directly to the final consumer thus negatively affecting infrastructure and the economic development of Tanzania," said EACPA Tanzania chairperson Catherine Langreney in a statement.

Langreney, who is also the chief exexutive officer of Mbeya Cement, added that Tanzania's cement industry was also set to be further penalised with cheap imported cement since cement imports would not be affected directly by the increased production costs.

Tanzania: The Tanzanian government has rejected calls by local cement companies to place trade barriers on imported cement because local production is still insufficient. Tanzania's Minister for Industry, Trade and Marketing, Dr Abdallah Kigoda said that despite the expected progress from cement industries, the government will still allow cement imports until local producers meet domestic demand.

Kigoda admitted that although imported cement is sold at a lower price compared to locally-produced cement, it should stand as an 'eye opener' for local industries to become competitive. Tanzania has three cement factories: Tanga Cement, Mbeya Cement and Twiga Cement. Another four plants are under construction. The country's cement production capacity stands at 3.25Mt/yr with actual demand placed at 4Mt/yr.

"In order to control importation of more cement local factories had to increase production to meet the demand as the country was surrounded by potential market opportunities such as Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the East Africa Community (EAC)," said Kigoda. He also mentioned other challenges facing the domestic cement industry such as a unreliable power sources and high distribution costs caused by poor infrastructure.