The Sri Lanka Cement Corporation is to invest LKR1500m (US$11.4m) to revamp the Kankesanthurai Cement Factory (KKS) in Kankesanthurai, which has been the object of repeated proposals for revival over recent years.
The plant has a capacity of 760,000tpa but operations ceased in 1990 as a result of political instability and security concerns in the north. Following the revamp work, the Kankesan plant will be able to meet around 10 per cent of domestic cement demand, Lanka News reported. The Sri Lanka Cement Corp expects to recover the investment in the plant 15 years from the start of operations, with a net profit contribution of eight per cent.
The KKS plant is situated in Jaffna which has substantial limestone deposits sufficient for 100 years/ production at 3500tpd, The government has aimed to develop the enterprise or to seek local partners and in 2011 it merged Sri Lanka Cement Corporation and Lanka Cement as "Kankesanthurai Cement."
Cement consumption in Sri Lanka has typically grown by 15 per cnt annually over the last few years. With the continued boom in construction and a stable government, the outlook appears rosy. Cement demand is expected to cross the 6Mta mark in 2014 when forecasts indicate that total cement consumption will rise to around 6.7Mt.
