AFRICA NEWS
Algeria will stop importing cement in 2017 , according to minister of industry and mining , Abdessalem Bouchouareb . The statement was made during the minister ’ s inspection visit to the Timegtane commune ’ s cement plant , located in the sub-prefecture of Aoulef , 260km east of Adrar .
Commissioning of the plant , which is the product of an Algerian – Chinese partnership , was expected by the end of 2016 . This will bring the country ’ s total annual production capacity to six million tonnes .
Kenya ’ s Savannah Cement plans to double its annual cement output to 2.4 million tonnes by upgrading its Athi River grinding plant , according to the Business Daily newspaper . The company , currently seeking approval from the National Environmental Management Agency ( Nema ), expects the additional capacity to be in place by mid-2018 . According to managing director Ronald Ndegwa , Savannah is hoping to issue the tender for the project in early 2017 . The project will involve installing an additional cement grinding mill and packing plant , allowing the company to expand its cement range , particularly its hydraulic road binder blend .
Egypt ’ s Industrial Development Authority ( IDA ) has awarded the tender for three cement licences to El Sewedy Cement , South Valley Cement , and Cement Egypt , according to a report in Daily News Egypt . The licences to build the new cement production facilities were sold for a total of EGP500-million ( USD28-million ), and are expected to attract investments worth EGP10-billion ( USD560-million ), according to the country ’ s minister of industry and trade , Tarek Kabil . The new licences are expected to provide close to 1 000 jobs . Production capacity of the three plants will reach six million tonnes , increasing the country ’ s total annual production capacity to 60 million tonnes .
India ’ s Lake Cement will be adding a new USD150-million cement manufacturing plant to its stable in Tanzania . Construction of the plant will start mid-2017 and will take two years to complete . The new plant , which will be built in the Chalinze-Tarawanda area in Bagamoyo , will have an annual production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes . Lake Cement has one manufacturing plant , its Kimbiji plant , in the Kigamboni District , where it produces its Nyati Cement brand . The Kimbiji plant has an annual production capacity of one million tonnes of cement per year , which is sold countrywide and exported to Rwanda , Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo .
Tanzania , Dangote Cement reach deal for natural gas
Tanzanian President John Magufuli has confirmed that an agreement with Nigeria ’ s Dangote Cement has been reached on the supply of natural gas to the firm ’ s manufacturing plant , according to Reuters . The USD500-million , three million tonne annual capacity cement factory in Mtwara , set up in 2015 , runs on expensive diesel generators and sought government support to reduce costs . But the negotiations stalled , with the state-run Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation ( TPDC ) saying the company was seeking ‘ at-the-well prices ’. After meeting with Aliko Dangote , Magufuli blamed ‘ middlemen ’ for interfering with supply plans and said the issue has now been resolved , with gas supplies to be sold at a ‘ reasonable ’ tariff . Magufuli told journalists after the meeting that
Dangote Cement would now buy natural gas directly from TPDC instead of going through intermediaries .
In February 2016 , Tanzania announced that it had discovered an additional 61.4 billion cubic metres of possible natural gas deposits in an onshore field , raising its total estimated recoverable natural gas reserves to more than 1.6 trillion cubic metres .
Dangote
Dangote Cement will now buy natural gas directly from the state-run Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation ( TPDC ).
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