Displaying items by tag: Uganda
National Cement plans US$198m plant in Uganda
14 April 2015Uganda: National Cement is set to invest US$198m in a new plant in Uganda, its first plant outside of Kenya. Construction of the 1Mt/yr capacity plant, located in Mbale, will start in May 2015 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
The project is the first in National Cement's regional expansion plan. The company also intends to venture into South Sudan in the next three years. "The first phase of the project is expected to commence in May 2015, after which we will continue expanding the plant over a three-year period," said Narendra Raval, the chairman of Devki Group, the parent company of National Cement. "Once the main plant is operational, we will expand it to include a clinker plant, which will ensure that we are self-sufficient." The Uganda project is being funded by loans from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and two local banks.
The plant signals increased competition in the regional cement market, which is grappling with price wars brought about by the entry of new players and expansion of established firms. Indian conglomerate Cemtech and ARM Cement, for instance, plan to set up new plants in Pokot and Kitui respectively. Nigeria's Dangote Cement has also announced plans to build a 3Mt/yr plant in Kitui.
The increased investment is set to worsen the glut and force further price cuts, placing more emphasis on volume growth and efficiency as the major profit drivers for individual companies. The increase in output is set to offset the projected 12% increase in consumption in the region over the next three years.
Savannah Cement focuses on East Africa
22 October 2014Kenya: 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.
Kenya/Uganda: Bamburi Cement intends to appoint Bruno Pescheux, the country CEO for Syria, as the CEO of Bamburi Kenya and Daniel Pettersson, the general manager of Hima Cement, as the CEO of Bamburi Uganda. At present the Lafarge subsidiary is run as one unit. The Kenyan business has three subsidiaries - Bamburi Cement, Bamburi Special Products and Lafarge Eco Systems while the Ugandan unit is managed as Hima Cement.
"With a view to improving focus on our markets it has been decided that, starting on 21 July 2014, the Kenya-Uganda cluster will be managed as two separate country organisations each with a country CEO and executive team," said outgoing Bamburi chief executive Hussein Mansi in a staff memo. Pescheux and Pettersson will report to Tom Farrell, group executive vice president.
Bamburi CEO Hussein Mansi to leave in July 2014
18 June 2014Kenya: Bamburi Cement chief executive Hussein Mansi is set to leave in July 2014. Mansi is relocating to Lafarge Egypt, ending his five-and-a-half year tenure overseeing Bamburi's operations in Kenya and Uganda. In an internal memo sent to staff, Mansi said he will be replaced by Bruno Pescheux, currently the chief executive of Lafarge Cement Syria.
"After five very interesting years leading the Kenya – Uganda business I have accepted a new challenge with Lafarge in Egypt and will be doing so by the end of July 2014," said Mansi.
Mansi, aged 47, holds a post-graduate certificate of Business Administration from the University of Leicester and a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Cairo. He began his career in 1991 at Saudi Building Systems as a design engineer and later as the sales manager before joining Orascom Construction Industries as works director in charge of sales and marketing.
Mansi joined Bamburi Cement in January 2009 from Algerian Cement Company (ACC), wholly owned by Orascom, where he was the commercial director for five years until December 2008. Orascom was acquired by Lafarge in 2007 leading to Mansi's promotion to head the French multinational's business in East Africa.
Uganda: The High Court in Kampala has ordered the Minister of State for Gender and Cultural Affairs Rukia Nakadama Isanga to pay US$52,000 to Hima Cement for construction materials she bought from the company.
According to court documents, Hima supplied cement worth US$31,000 to Nakadama and her husband, Dauda Isanga, between 2003 and 2005. The couple later issued cheques worth US$31,000 to the company but these cheques were rejected by the bank due to insufficient funds. Justice David Wangutusi also ordered Nakadama and Isanga to pay US$19,500 in interest to Hima Cement accrued since 2009. The judge also ordered the couple to pay 8% interest per annum on both amounts from the date of judgement until the payment is completed.
Construction activity slows in Uganda in third quarter of 2013
27 November 2013Uganda: A slowdown in the construction sector and increased competition from imports has seen the price of cement fall by 13% in the third quarter of 2013 in Uganda, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Construction Sector Indices report.
Cement production in the country has increased following the entry of new producers including Moroto Cement, whose production capacity is estimated at 3000t/day. Hima and Tororo Cement factories have also increased cement production capacities. Cement supply in the country is currently estimated at 137,000t, up from 115,000t in 2012. As cement production increases prices are also expected to continue trending downwards.
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.
Hima Cement completes bag filter upgrade
10 July 2013Uganda: Hima Cement has completed the installation of new bag filter technology at its Kasese plant. The US$3.2m bag filter technology investment is geared towards bringing the stack emissions in line with the global environmental standards.
"We invested significant resources to conduct environmental impact assessments to ensure that the plant operations met all the required environmental standards for its manufacturing processes and operations," said Peter Robson, Hima Cement's Plant Manager.
Hima Ciment, part of Bamburi Cement that in turn is a subsidiary of Lafarge, expects the plant's target emissions to be below Lafarge's industrial targets. Further testing is expected to be completed by the end of July 2013. Project manager Jackson Molo added that Bamburi Cement achieved 0.01mg/m3 emissions with the same technology at a plant in Mombasa in 2012. The Kasese plant has a cement production capacity of 0.85Mt/yr.
Hima appeals limestone rights
17 April 2013Uganda: Hima Cement says it has successfully challenged the loss of its limestone mining rights in Kasese, western Uganda.
David Njoroge, the General Manager of the Lafarge subsidiary, stated that the company had challenged the move during an Administrative Review process that was conducted in accordance with the Mining Act. It cited various instances of breach of the requirements of the law in the handover of its mining rights to the third party. Njoroge said the matter went to the High Court and has now progressed to the Court of Appeal.
"A stay of the orders of the High Court has been applied for and the appeal process has been commenced seeking to overturn the ruling of the High Court," said Njoroge. Hima lost the rights in early April 2013 to the East African Gold Sniffing Company following a Ugandan High Court ruling.
Hima loses limestone rights in Uganda
03 April 2013Uganda: Hima Cement has lost its mining rights to limestone deposits in Uganda following a High Court decision. The court transferred the rights to limestone deposits in Kasese, western Uganda, from the subsidiary of Lafarge to the East African Gold Sniffing Company.
The court ruled that Hima's lease was for 21 years, ending on 31 December 2011, and it had already lapsed without any renewal in accordance with Section 47 of the Mining Act. East Africa Gold Sniffing contested a decision by the Ministry of Energy that restored Hima's mining rights after Hima managed to secure an exploration licence over the same area. The ruling means that mining of limestone and processing of cement must cease until and if an appellate court overturns the decision.