Mozambique's new 1.8Mta plant now 90% complete

Mozambique's Minister of Industry and Trade, Carlos Mesquita, has visited the site of the new 1.8Mta Dugong Cimentos plant in Matutuine, noting that when commissioned it should lead to a downward pressure on prices, according to All Africa.

The plant is now 90 per cent complete and represents a Chinese investment of around US$330m. It will use around 400,000tpa of coal in its production process.

"We recognise that this cement factory, when it comes into production, will, without a doubt, make a difference to the availability of this raw material for construction", said Mr Mesquita. "It has the great advantage in that all the material necessary to produce cement can be found in Matutuine".

The southern region of the country is currently facing a cement shortage due to a breakdown at Cimentos de Mocambique’s Matola plant. However, the factories in the central and southern provinces have a surplus, with Mr Mesquita stating that this cement could be sent to the south using the recently-inaugurated coastal shipping service.