Nedbank Capital and the Bank of China Johannesburg have jointly announced the raising of debt capital to fund a new entrant into the South African cement industry.

The project is being undertaken by the Mamba Cement Company, a special purpose vehicle established to construct and operate the cement production facility and mine the limestone.

The equity required for the project was provided by the Jidong Development Group (majority shareholder in the project), the China-Africa Development Fund and WIPHOLD.

The greenfield cement plant with a capacity of more than 1Mta is to be built at an established limestone deposit near Northam in Limpopo. It will be well placed to serve the major cement demand centres of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg and Brits.

The majority shareholders in Mamba Cement are Jidong Development Group and the China-Africa Development Fund (CAD Fund), with a 51 per cent shareholding in the project.

Jidong and the CAD Fund’s shareholding in Mamba Cement is held through African Rhino Cement, which is 60 per cent owned by Jidong and 40 per cent by the CAD Fund.

The other shareholders in Mamba Cement are majority black women-owned and managed investment and operating group Women Investment Portfolio Holdings (Wiphold), with a 23.9 percent stake, and the unidentified holder of the limestone mining rights, with a 25.1 percent shareholding.