National Cement SC, Ethiopia is expected to begin production in October in an expansion project which began in 2005.

According to reports in the Addis Fortune, National Cement will begin with clinker trial production in October and Cement trial production after a month in November according to Engineer Busa Assefa, Chief Executive Officer of the company.

The trial production phase will begin at 60 per cent of clinker and 70 per cent of cement production rate to become fully operational in three months, he explained.

National Cement SC grew out of the first Ethiopian cement factory founded in Dire Dawa at the time of the Italian Occupation: Dire Dawa Cement Factory founded in 1936.

The old plant produces 420tpd of clinker and 600tpd of cement. The new factory is expected to have the potential to produce 4000-4500tpd in total.

The National Cement Factory is being expanded on a 40 hectare plot of land in the Bajatu area three kilometers from the old factory. The investment will undergo further upgrading to enhance its production capacity according to officials.

The target market for the company is expected to be Eastern Ethiopia and export markets in Djibouti and Somaliland noted the officials of the company.