Tanzania expects to double its cement production in the next few years as new factories come on-stream to satisfy growing demand from the construction sector, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
Tanzania's cement output rose 18.9 per cent last year to slightly above 3Mt on the back of higher demand. Janet Mbene, deputy trade minister,  said the rise in output would see Tanzania  produce a surplus to be exported.

Annual cement production in east Africa's second-largest economy will rise to 6Mta in a few years' time as seven new factories start operations, Janet Mbene told parliament. Among the new factories under construction is Dangote Cement’s 3Mta plant at Mtwara that is scheduled for commissioning in October 2015.

Existing ement makers operating in the country include Tanzania Portland Cement, which is 69.3 per cent owned by a subsidiary of Germany's Heidelberg Cement AG; Tanga Cement, 62.5 per cent owned by Afrisam Mauritius Investment Holdings Limited and Mbeya Cement, 62.76 per cent owned by France's Lafarge SA.