Displaying items by tag: land

Kenya: An attempt by the East African Portland Cement (EAPCC) to sell some of its land has been threatened by local residents. 5000 local residents say that the disputed land belongs to them, according to the Standard newspaper. They hold a title deed to the land and a court halted construction work on the site in February 2019. The residents also claim that they have been subject to excessive force by the police.

The EAPCC is selling land in a government-backed arrangement to try and clear its debts after it made a loss in 2018. The land has been set aside for Kenya Railways to build a rail container terminal. The railway operator has already made a US$12m down payment on the property. The cement producer maintains that it owns the land. However, the government has agreed to negotiate with the protestors.

Bolivia: The Lower House of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly has approved a bill allowing state-owned cement producer Empresa Publica Productiva Cementos de Bolivia (ECEBOL) to buy land at Chiutara in Potosi to build a future plant. ECEBOL will buy 39.8 hectares for a project with an investment of around US$240m, according to the El Potosi newspaper. The new plant will have a production capacity of 1.3Mt/yr.

Uganda: The local government has allocated more than 228 hectares of land for the construction of a new cement plant. The land was offered to the Uganda Development Cooperation-UDC and its partners TSAVO Engineers and Savanna Mines in November 2018, according to the Ugandan Independent newspaper. However, the local community has expressed concerns about the project.

Kenya: The East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has received backing from the Ministry of Trade to sell unused land to pay off debts and commitments of nearly US$150m. The ministry said that a cabinet memorandum is ready to grant the company approval to sell off its assets, according to the Business Daily newspaper. The cement producer says it needs the funds to pay employee benefits, pay suppliers, pay off debts to companies including the Kenya Commercial Bank and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency and refurbish its plant. The cement producer says it wants to spend US$19.5m towards refurbishing its plant in a one-to-two month shutdown. At present the unit is operating at a 50% capacity utilisation rate.

Egypt: The Egyptian Chemical Industries Company (Kima) plans to sell the land belonging to National Cement within the next year. Chief executive officer (CEO) Emad el-Din Mostafa said that the bankrupt cement producer owns over 300 hectares of land, according to Arab Finance. Selling the assets is part of the Ministry of Public Business Sector’s strategy to pay the former cement producer’s debts including worker salaries. The sale is expected to generate up to US$39m.