REGIONAL cement producer Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) says its $80 million cement plant in Harare, aimed at ramping up production, is now over 55% complete.
BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
The plant has a capacity to produce 680 000 tonnes of cement annually and is expected on line this year.
In its investor update presentation reflecting group performance during the first five months of the financial year, PPC said its projects in Zimbabwe were shaping up.
“PPC’s expansion strategy remains on track and sales in the recently commissioned plant in Rwanda has passed the 100 000-tonne mark. All three remaining projects in the DRC, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia are over 55% complete,” it said.
The group said cement volumes were down 1% for the first five months of the financial year, while sales in the South Africa cement business rose 2% while they declined in the international businesses.
“Pressure on selling prices has weighed in most operating regions,” it said.
Addressing delegates at the Zimbabwe-South Africa Investment and Trade Initiative meeting in Bulawayo last week, Industry and Commerce deputy minister Chiratidzo Mabuwa said PPC had invested about $25 million in the past three years in Bulawayo.
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She said the company’s presence in Zimbabwe was a sign that the country was open for foreign investment.
“The company (PPC Zimbabwe) has invested so far $25 million in the past three years with the aim of improving productivity,” Mabuwa said.
“Its expansion shows that the company has bestowed confidence in the Zimbabwean economy. The presence of PPC in Zimbabwe is enough evidence for foreign investors especially those from South Africa. It shows and it’s a testimony that your investment will always be in safe hands,” she said.
Mabuwa also said PPC was one of the foreign companies that have complied with the country’s indigenisation laws.
Giving trading update for the quarter October to December 2015 recently, PPC board chairman, Bheki Sibiya said the completion of major infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe has led to double-digit declines in local sales, while exports have been hit by weakening currencies in target markets.
He said PPC’s expansion remains well on track and “we are pleased to advise that construction at our sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia is in line with expectations”.
The company has cement manufacturing plants at Cementside in Bulawayo and Colleen Bawn in Matabeleland South.
Its Bulawayo plant produced around 600 000 tonnes of cement last year, while operating at 75% of installed capacity.
