Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, inaugurated on 3 August 2023 the AnJia Cement Factory, a Chinese-funded cement plant Muhanga Industrial park, Southern Province, Rwanda.

The AnJia Cement Factory was built by AnJia Prefabricated Construction Rwanda Co Ltd, a subsidiary of West International Holding, the African business of West China Cement Ltd.

West China Cement has invested US$50m in the grinding unit, which has a cement capacity of 1Mta. At present the plant provides employment to 205 people, but this is expected to increase to 250 people by the end of the year as production of the plant is ramped up from 2255tpd currently.

It is expected that the new facility will enable Rwanda to become self-sufficient in cement, reducing the reliance on imports and expanding the market in the neighbouring countries. In 2022 the country’s cement demand was estimated at 0.95Mta with domestic supply estimated at 0.48Mta.

Due to the commissioning of the new unit, cement prices are also forecast to decrease from their present RWF12,500 (US$10.67) for 32.5 grade cement and RWF13,000 (42.5 grade) to RWF9750 and RWF10,500, respectively.