Thatta’s Cement announces modernisation project, Pakistan

Pakistan cement producer Thatta Cement Company’s announced that its board of directors has approved a plan to improve production efficiency at its cement works through a ‘Balancing Modernisation and Rehabilitation’ (BMR) programme.

The BMR project will take about 18-24 months to execute from the date of equipment order, CemNet News has learnt.

Thatta’s cement works is located 115km northeast of Karachi, in Makli, Thatta District. The plant was commissioned in 1982 and based on dry-process technology but needs a substantial amount of investment to align it with the latest technologies being used in the cement industry.

Management has planned to undertake its improvements by investing in the preheater and cooler sections of the plant. After completion of the BMR programme, the plant would achieve sustained and uninterrupted operation together with improved efficiencies and a nominal increase in clinker production, the company secretary and CFO, Muhammad Taha Hamdani said. Additionally, it will also result in reduction in cost of electricity and coal.

The plant was originally supplied by Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan. In 2004 a consortium of Arif Habib and Al-Abbas Group acquired 100 per cent shares of the company from the Privatization Commission of Pakistan and took over its management control.