PPC Ltd., South Africa’s largest cement maker, plans to boost production capacity by as much as 75% as it targets more projects across the continent.
“The pipeline for at least one or two more projects is very healthy,” CEO Ketso Gordhan said in Johannesburg. “By the end of 2017, we should be a 14 million-ton player.”
The company is spending $1.04 billion on expanding into African countries that are net importers of cement. Johannesburg-based PPC has started projects in Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.
A new plant in Algeria is set to start operating by early 2017 after investments of $400 million to $450 million. Hodna Cement Co., in which PPC is acquiring a 49% stake, will produce 2 million tons of the construction material a year.
By Kamlesh Bhuckory
