Displaying items by tag: Tanzania
Lafarge Tanzania inaugurates modern bag filter
16 December 2013Tanzania: 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.
Twiga Cement donates food to orphanages
16 December 2013Tanzania: The Tanzanian Portland Cement Company (Twiga Cement) has donated food valued at US$18,700 to four orphanages. The food is intended to feed orphans at the Kurasini, Malaika, Umra and Mamalenga orphanages, all in Dar es Salaam, for three months.
The Director of Human Resources Management for Twiga Cement, Jayne Nyimbo, said that it has become a tradition for the company to give donations at the end of each year. Around 300 orphans were gathered at a special festive meal, where they had the opportunity to play with 'Father Christmas' and have lunch with Twiga cement staff at the WAMA and Rotary Club of Dar es Salaam.
"We have brought children together to give them a day of pleasure, knowing that they do not have parents to spend time with, so we thought the least we could do is give them a Christmas donation that they deserve," said Nyimbo.
East Africa Cement Producers Association opposes power tariff rise
27 November 2013Tanzania: 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.
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.
Athi River Mining to double production
13 November 2013Tanzania/ Kenya: Athi River Mining (ARM) will spend over US$400m on the construction of new cement plants in Tanzania and Kenya.
Pradeep Paunrana, the company's chief executive, said a new plant in Tanga, Tanzania, would have a capacity of 1.2Mt/yr and will be completed within five months. "The entire Tanga project coupled with the Dar es Salaam grinding plant that has been in operation since 2012 has cost US$150m," he said. ARM aims to increase its market share in Tanzania from 17% to 25% by the end of 2014.
In 2014 ARM will embark on the construction of a US$250m clinker factory in Kenya to boost its cement production capacity to 5Mt/yr.
"We are looking at doubling our cement production in Kenya within a four-year period from 2.5Mt in 2012," said Paunrana. He added that ARM expect immense growth in the Kenyan cement industry in the second half of 2013 due to the thriving real estate industry.
According to a 2013 Kenyan market update report by CW Group, a US-based cement consultancy company, despite the low rates reported in 2012, cement demand is projected to increase by 10%/yr and exceed 6.3Mt/yr by 2017. Kenya's cement consumption per capita is also forecast to reach an important milestone in 2014 when it will surpass, for the first time in its history, 100kg per inhabitant.
Commission studies hiked cement prices
06 November 2013Zambia: The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) of Zambia has started a study to investigate cement price rises in South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia. The four sub-Saharan countries were chosen by the CCPC as a case study because they had similar companies producing and selling cement locally according to CCPC public relations officer Hanford Chaaba.
"We have been monitoring this situation concerning price changes for quite some time now and a study has been focused on these countries because the same producers of cement in Zambia have established factories in South Africa, Tanzania and Botswana," said Chaaba. He added that a similar study is also being conducted for the sugar and poultry industries.
ARM Cement forecasts profits to rise by 35% in 2013
04 October 2013Kenya/Tanzania: ARM Cement expects its revenue to grow year-on-year at a slightly faster rate in 2013 due new a new cement plant in Tanzania that increased its production capacity. Chief executive Pradeep Paunrana made the forecast in an interview with Reuters. The Kenyan cement producer expects similar growth in 2014.
A new cement grinding plant in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania that was commissioned in 2012 increased ARM's cement production capacity by 0.75Mt/yr to 1.75Mt/yr. Another 1.2Mt/yr clinker plant in Tanga, Tanzania is due to start production in early 2014.
In July 2013 ARM reported that its pre-tax profits for the first half of 2013 had rise by 28% year-on-year to US$11.5m.
Tanzania: Pascal Lesoinne, the chairman of the East African Cement Producers' Association (EACPA), has denied that a cartel exists in the Tanzanian cement market. His comments arose at a press conference in Dar es Salaam following action by the Tanzanian government to investigate cement imports from Pakistan.
"Repeated accusations of there being a cartel are nonsense as competition is fierce in the market and there are many players. Cement is a hot cake of which everybody wants to have a share," said Lesoinne in a presentation on the benefits of the cement industry to Tanzania's economy. Leading cement producers in Tanzania include HeidelbergCement, Afrisam and Lafarge. Lesoinne cited taxation and jobs as two principal benefits of Tanzania's local cement industry.
Confederation of Tanzania Industry (CTI) figures indicate that in 2012 over 200,000t of cement were imported from Pakistan to Tanzania. Industry players say it is difficult for local manufacturers to compete with imports, largely due to high costs of production in the country, with electricity costs in Tanzania being four times higher than in China and Egypt, according to EACPA figures. Lesoinne called for the government to create a 'level playing field' between locally produced and imported cement.
In late July 2013 the Tanzania government formed a seven person team to investigate alleged subsidies, tax evasion and the quality of cement imported from Pakistan.
East African cement firms to benefit from construction boom
27 August 2013Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda: Cement makers in east Africa are set to get a major lift from an expected surge in demand driven by double-digit growth of the construction sector in the region, according to stockbrokerage firm Kestrel Capital.
Kestrel's analysts say that the construction sector is likely to outpace economic growth, expanding by up to 13%/yr compared to expected GDP growth of 6.0%/yr, 5.5%/yr and 7.0%/yr in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania respectively.
The growth is expected to boost sales for regional cement makers and reverse the fortunes of Kenya's East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), the performance of which has been damaged by management wrangles at the company.
Tanga Cement launches US$160m clinker line project
21 August 2013Tanzania: Tanga Cement Company has launched a US$160m expansion project that includes building a new clinker production line. Tanga board chairman Lau Masha said that the project was scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2015.
"Apart from increasing our clinker manufacturing capacity to match the current cement grinding capacity, this project will also reduce cement manufacturing costs, improve quality and increase cement availability," said Masha.
He said that the first phase of the plant expansion project, which involved installation of cement mill number two between 2009 and 2010, increased the plant's cement grinding capacity by 73% to 1.3Mt/yr. However clinker production capacity remained at 500,000t/yr with the short-fall being covered by imports.