Rwanda’s sole cement producer, Cimerwa, plans to increase its production capacity to 600,000 tonnes annually when ongoing expansion works are completed early next year, Busi Legodi, the Cimerwa CEO, has said.
Legodi said over 94% of the $170 million works has already been completed. “The plant should be ready by the end of the first quarter next year… once completed, our production capacity will increase from the current 100,000 tonnes of cement per year to 600,000 tonnes.”
Market demand for cement currently stands at about 500,000 tonnes of cement per year, and the country depends mostly on imports.
As it marks 13 years of existence, Cimerwa has rebranded its corporate identity to reflect the direction the firm is headed.
“Our new corporate identity indicates Cimerwa’s future plans as we look to expanding our production capacity. We are also looking at growing our external markets in DR Congo and Burundi,” Sam Kasule, the Cimerwa commercial manager said.
He noted that the firm will also deepen its corporate social investment programmes, thanks to partnership with its strategic investor Pretoria Portland Cement Company (PPC Cement).
By Peterson Tumwebaze
http://allafrica.com/stories/201410300484.html
