Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) commissioned, a regional cement manufacturer it’s $85 million cement plant in Msasa, Harare. PPC has two other plants in the country, one in Bulawayo and another Collen Bawn, near Gwanda.
The company expects to new plant to be producing 700 000 tonnes per annum. This will provide a greater scope for the manufacturer to export into regional markets including Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi.
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PPC Chief Executive Officer Mr Darryl Castle said the Msasa mill was part of a bigger plan to develop a fully integrated plant in Harare in time, as the economy and local demand grows.
The company supplying cement to Sino-Hydro for the Kariba South hydro power project. Some other construction projects that their cement has been used include famous landmarks such as Victoria Falls, Kariba Dam, Harare International Airport, NRZ Building and Lake Mutirikwi.
Their cement has also been used for structures like bridges and roads, making them the most dominant manufacturer of sophisticated cement. The company currently holds the largest market share for the cement market in Zimbabwe.
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The Msasa plant boasts of the latest technologies in the cement industry. The plant has a state of the art palletiser and plastic cover wrapping machine. The machine is automated and packs 40 bags of cement into a pallet in a neat unit. The palletiser helps to improve output, making life easier and improving service delivery to customers. This is a first ever in the country’s cement industry.
The new plant will improve operational efficiencies, helping to stabilise margins and drive volumes. The cement maker utilised its own cash resources, reducing the project debt to $20 million, instead of $75 million which had been initially communicated.
PPC is a subsidiary of South Africa’s PPC Limited and has other regional operations in Botswana and Rwanda.
