After previously only being home to one cement plant (Tororo Cement), 2018 will see Tororo District welcome at least two new plants.
By the end of 2017, Simba Cement of Kenya will have completed a grinding plant on the Tororo-Mbale highway. Simba Cement’s new plant will have the capabilities to produce in excess of 1Mta.
Hardly a kilometre from the site, Hima Cement is expected to have started production on its US$40m (UGS144bn) plant by June 2018, which will see Hima’s production capacity increase from 0.9Mta to 1.9Mta.
Speaking about the development, Tororo Cement Process Manager, Peter Karanja, said: “We are the market leaders controlling 60 per cent of the market share. We are also setting up a bigger plant that will double our production.” Tororo Cement will be expanding its own capacity in the area with an investment valued at US$50m, raising capacity from 1.8Mta to 3Mta.
According to Daniel Petterson, CEO of Hima Cement, Tororo presents an opportunity for better access to limestone. The access to limestone is mainly in Moroto, where Hima is exploring. By 2018 the company expects to have determined the quantity of limestone and secure mining lease.
Additionally, the northeastern part of Uganda is one of the remaining areas in the country with viable limestone deposits, which may offer some explanation for the expansion drive around Tororo.
“The construction sector in Uganda is rebounding as shown by the sustained increase in demand for cement; currently at 10 per cent per year. Our capacity expansion drive aims at meeting this demand for not only within Uganda but the regional market as well,” Mr Petterson said.
Uganda’s domestic consumption of cement is estimated at 2.2Mt. However, the existing factory capacity is about 2.6Mt. Another 100,000t is imported from Kenya, United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia, among others.
According to Ugandan State Minister for Industry, Michael Werikhe, the increased expansion of factories presents opportunities for Uganda to export to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and South Sudan. The increased production levels should also facilitate the reduction in cement prices.
“Last year we released a rise in prices of cement driven by reduced production by the factories. With the increased factories and expansion, we hope there will be a reduction in prices of cement that will translate into lower costs of construction,” said Peter Lokeris, the State Minister for Minerals.
