Lemi National Cement Factory in Ethiopia has attained 70% completion status in construction. The cement factory is expected to be completed in the coming year and also be inaugurated in the same year. The upcoming cement factory is expected to boost the cement production capacity of Ethiopia by a capacity of 8 million metric tons.
Cost of the new factory
Under the ownership of West International Holding, the African arm of West China and East African Holding Company which is the Lemi National Cement Factory is undergoing a construction at a cost of US$600 million. The factory is situated at the Lemi Building Materials Industrial Park in North Shoa’s Ensaro District which is situated at a distance of 150 kilometers north of the Addis Ababa city which is the capital city of Ethiopia.
Completion Date
The Lemi National Cement Factory project commenced in March of 2021 when the foundation stone was laid. It is currenty at about 70% complete and is scheduled to be completed in early 2024. The plants preheater frames and rotary kilns were installed in November 2023.
Contractor for the project
The project’s contractor is Chinese Sinoma International Engineering. They are also involved in a similar project planned in Dire Dawa about 400 km from Addis Ababa where an industrial park is also under way. They are indertaking the engineering, procurement and constructionw works.
Lemi National Cement Factory Production Capacity
Upon completion, the factory is set to have a production capacity of 10,000 tons of clinker cement in a single day. The clinker unit of the factory and the assembly process of the pipe that will be utilized for the transferring of the mixed raw materials to the next production process have been finished after a duration of 11 months of construction works.
The chairman of East African Holding Company, Buzuayehu Tadele, made an announcement on Sunday that they had already completed installing the massive preheater frames and the rotary kilns in the factory. These are the structures in which huge rocks are made to decompose under very high temperatures in order to come up with cement as the end product. The installations marked a major milestone for the factory and accorded the completion of construction works a 70% completion status. Once complete, the factory is set to become the largest cement manufacturing plant in Ethiopia.
About the Project Partners
The US$600 million project is a joint venture that includes East African Holding Company this is a prominent indsutrial establishment in Ethiopia. The company is engaged in manufacturing, mining, and real estate as well as agriculture, distributiona nd logistics.
The other partner in the venture is  West China Cement Limited. According to the company’s website it is one of the elading cement producers in Shaanxi Province in China with production capacity of 29 million tons of cement along with 15 million tons of aggregate and 10 million tons of concrete. The company aso has operations in Mozambique.
