Displaying items by tag: South Sudan

South Sudan: B Smart, an investment company owned by son of a former Malaysian Prime Minister, plans to invest US$100m in constructing a cement plant near the capital city of Juba. The plant is targeted to be operational within 24 months pending necessary approvals, and will use limestone from Kapoeta, 275km east of Juba.

Deputy Secretary for Commerce and Industry, Kuol Daniel Ayulo, said "The plant will reduce the country's reliance on costly cement imports and accelerate infrastructure development."

Uganda: Local cement producers are facing challenges meeting the specification required for cement being used by the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project. Project coordinator Kasingye Kyamugambi said at a procurement conference in Kampala that the project was facing issues with cement, reinforcement steel and sand, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper. Hima Cement is producing one specific product for the project following discussions with the SGR. However, the railway needs eight different types of cement.

Kyamugambi has called for legal cover for the infrastructure project to bypass local product sourcing laws. He has asked that new legislation be introduced to cover projects with a lifecycle of over a century.

The SGR is being built by China’s China Harbour Engineering Company. The project is intended to link up to Kenya’s railway project at Tororo with proposed links to Rwanda and South Sudan. The Democratic Republic of Congo has also expressed interested in the line.

Uganda: 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.

Kenya: Savannah Cement has confirmed on-going plans to include the East African market as part of its regional integration support project. The regional market development project is based on a commitment to pursue sales opportunities in all East African countries by 2015, according to managing director Ronald Ndegwa. He added that plans to appoint local dealers in Rwanda and Burundi are at an advanced stage.

Savannah Cement has good market performance in the Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan markets. In Tanzania it has expanded its market reach by retaining in-country dealers in Arusha and Mwanza to cover the country's inland cement demand.

"Savannah Cement's overall corporate development is anchored on a regional market coverage strategy and we are glad that we have made good inroads in the respective East African markets," Ndegwa said. "With our current installed production capacity of about 1.5Mt/yr, we are well placed to meet regional demand." The company is also considering doubling its current production capacity to meet demand.

Ndegwa disclosed that Savannah Cement is lining up development projects valued at more than US$300m, including an investment plan to establish a clinker manufacturing facility and to commission its second grinding plant.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement intends to reach a total cement production capacity of 50Mt/yr by 2016 which will make it Africa's largest cement producer. The company's chief executive, DVG Edwin, summarised production projects by the Nigeria-based cement producer: "Our plant in Senegal will soon be producing cement and our South African venture, Sephaku Cement, is well on track to open in early 2014. These two plants will be our first production ventures outside Nigeria as we aim to become Africa's leading supplier of cement," said Edwin.

Edwin revealed that construction work is underway at Mugher, Ethiopia for a 2.5Mt/yr cement plant. Operation is scheduled to begin in October 2015 at a 3Mt/yr gas-fired plant in Mtwara, Tanzania. Cement production is expected to start in mid-2014 at a 1.5Mt/yr in Ndola, Zambia. In Cameroon a 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant will be completed in the first half of 2014 and an integrated 1.5Mt/yr cement plant is expected to begin production in the second quarter of 2016. A 1.5Mt/yr cement plant in South Sudan and a 1.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Kenya are both set to become operational in 2016.

Along the coast of West Africa Dangote nears completion of import facilities to receive and bag bulk cement produced in Nigeria and Senegal. Additional import facilities in Sierra Leone are due to begin by the end of 2013 or early 2014.

In Liberia Edwin said that the order for equipment has been made for an import facility in Freeport Monrovia. Imports into Liberia are expected to commence in early 2015. The company plans to build a 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, with operations projected to begin in early 2015. In Ghana, the company plans to open 1.5Mt/yr grinding plants in Tema and Takoradi by early 2015. Finally, Dangote cement has recently announced its intention to build an integrated 1.5Mt/yr plant in Niger.