Zimbabwe: PPC's Harare plant to create growth opportunities

Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) Zimbabwe says its new US$75m Harare plant wil be commissioned at year-end. PPC Zimbabwe Managing Director, Kelibone Masiyane, told NewsDay all was set for the biggest project to roar into life by the end of the year. The new facility will produce 0.68Mta of cement.

"The Harare Msasa project is at an advanced stage, with commissioning already in progress and plant handover is on schedule for year-end," he said. "The new plant in Harare creates opportunities for growth going into the future and this expanded factory-footprint presents us with exciting possibilities," he said.

Commenting on the company's performance in the first half of the year, Mr Masiyane said business was down. “While positive in the circumstances, overall performance has declined slightly compared to last year. This decrease can be mainly ascribed to the impact of selling price pressures together with the lower sales volumes,” he said.

For the six-month period ended 31 March 2016, the company's cement sales fell by three per cent. Its reported volumes, including exports, at its Zimbabwean unit went down 22 per cent in the first half of the year due to liquidity challenges, increased local competition and lower disposable income.

The company has cement manufacturing plants at Cementside in Bulawayo and Colleen Bawn in Matabeleland South. Its Bulawayo plant produced around 0.6Mt of cement in 2014, while operating at 75 per cent of installed capacity.

In addition to its Zimbabwe operations and its presence in South Africa, PPC also runs units in Botswana, Ethiopia and Rwanda.