Heidelberg's Tanzanian unit sees cement demand rising
Wednesday, 09 May 2012
German group HeidelbergCements's Tanzanian unit expects demand for cement in east Africa's second-biggest economy to rise this year.
Tanzania Portland Cement said on Tuesday infrastructure, residential and commercial projects would fuel growth in demand for cement, provided an electricity supply crisis was solved.
"It is forecast that the cement demand will continue to grow in the country as several areas are still at very early stages of development," TPCC chairman Jean Marc-Junon said.
Ranked as the largest cement maker in Tanzania, TPCC said it had invested $17 million expanding the production of clinker, the main ingredient in cement making.
"This will bring the total clinker capacity ... to more than 1.15 million tonnes per year, making it the single largest clinker manufacturing site in East Africa," it said, adding the expansion would free it from expensive clinker imports.
The construction sector grew 8.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, from a growth rate of 1.0 percent a year ago, according to the state-run National Bureau of Statistics.
The International Monetary Fund said in March it expected Tanzania's economy to expand 6.5 percent to 7 percent in 2012/13.
