Kikwete lays stone for EA's biggest cement plant
Thématique :
tanzanie
The cement factory, owned by Maweni Limestone Limited, a subsidiary of the Kenya-based Athi River Mining Company, would be the largest of its kind in the Eastern African zone with a production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of cement per year.
Assuring investors of support, he said Tanzania would protect their investments because it had signed an international accord to protect investments.
The country was a member of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and International Centre for Settlement of Disputes (ICSID) through the accord, President Kikwete said.
He further said that their investment capital was protected against nationalisation and therefore investors in Tanzania were assured of its safety.
On the importance of cement production in the construction sector, he said it played a vital role in the development of several economies in recent years. In Tanzania, the contribution of the sector to the GDP had grown from 5.1 per cent in 2000 to 6.5 per cent in 2007, he pointed out.
"The sector has continued to grow, reaching 9.7 per cent in 2007 from 0.8 per cent in 2000,".
President Kikwete said the statistics were indicators that the sector could continue to grow and contribute more to the country's economic growth.
"To enhance the sector's contribution in economic growth, availability of cement was crucial," he said.
He commended the Athi River Company for establishing the factory, effectively becoming the first private company to build a cement factory in Tanzania.
He said Tanzania would now be the only country in the region to possess four cement factories, something to be proud of.
He said construction of the second cement factory in Tanga would increase competitiveness, reduce imports and save foreign exchange.
It would further enhance the capacity of the construction sector to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said.
President Kikwete said cement production from all three existing plants reached 1.5 million tonnes in 2005, still a small figure compared to the current Tanzanian population estimated at 37 million.
"This means that the per capita consumption of cement in Tanzania is 37 kilogrammes per year, which is very small compared to Kenya whose consumption is 56 kg and South Africa whose consumption is 400 kg per person per year," he noted.
He said it was obvious that the current production did not satisfy the existing cement demand in Tanzania which has reached 1.7 million tonnes.
President Kikwete said production would reach three million tonnes of cement per year and thus enable Tanzania to sell the product outside, especially to neighboring countries where its demand has risen. Earlier, the company's managing director, Mr Pradeep Paunrama, said the plant to be built at a cost of US$120 million (about Sh145 billion) would be completed in 24 months.
He announced that the first day's cement production of 4,000 tonnes or 125 lorry loads, would be donated to the President for any community projects of his choice.
Mr Paunrama said the plant would operate with a state-of-the-art technology using very little power.
Its fuel consumption per tonne of cement produced would be the lowest in the region.
Athi River Mining Limited also operates in Kenya, Zambia and South Africa. Currently it is actively pursuing interests in several other countries in Africa.
Its business is to mine industrial minerals and process them into value added finished products.
Mr Paunrama said Tanzania was endowed with industrial minerals which were necessary for the development of a modern economy.
He pointed out that the company would continue to plough back profits into Tanzania to add to its capital formation and industrial base.
Mr Paunrama revealed that the company intended to list on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange as soon as possible.
Assuring investors of support, he said Tanzania would protect their investments because it had signed an international accord to protect investments.
The country was a member of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and International Centre for Settlement of Disputes (ICSID) through the accord, President Kikwete said.
He further said that their investment capital was protected against nationalisation and therefore investors in Tanzania were assured of its safety.
On the importance of cement production in the construction sector, he said it played a vital role in the development of several economies in recent years. In Tanzania, the contribution of the sector to the GDP had grown from 5.1 per cent in 2000 to 6.5 per cent in 2007, he pointed out.
"The sector has continued to grow, reaching 9.7 per cent in 2007 from 0.8 per cent in 2000,".
President Kikwete said the statistics were indicators that the sector could continue to grow and contribute more to the country's economic growth.
"To enhance the sector's contribution in economic growth, availability of cement was crucial," he said.
He commended the Athi River Company for establishing the factory, effectively becoming the first private company to build a cement factory in Tanzania.
He said Tanzania would now be the only country in the region to possess four cement factories, something to be proud of.
He said construction of the second cement factory in Tanga would increase competitiveness, reduce imports and save foreign exchange.
It would further enhance the capacity of the construction sector to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said.
President Kikwete said cement production from all three existing plants reached 1.5 million tonnes in 2005, still a small figure compared to the current Tanzanian population estimated at 37 million.
"This means that the per capita consumption of cement in Tanzania is 37 kilogrammes per year, which is very small compared to Kenya whose consumption is 56 kg and South Africa whose consumption is 400 kg per person per year," he noted.
He said it was obvious that the current production did not satisfy the existing cement demand in Tanzania which has reached 1.7 million tonnes.
President Kikwete said production would reach three million tonnes of cement per year and thus enable Tanzania to sell the product outside, especially to neighboring countries where its demand has risen. Earlier, the company's managing director, Mr Pradeep Paunrama, said the plant to be built at a cost of US$120 million (about Sh145 billion) would be completed in 24 months.
He announced that the first day's cement production of 4,000 tonnes or 125 lorry loads, would be donated to the President for any community projects of his choice.
Mr Paunrama said the plant would operate with a state-of-the-art technology using very little power.
Its fuel consumption per tonne of cement produced would be the lowest in the region.
Athi River Mining Limited also operates in Kenya, Zambia and South Africa. Currently it is actively pursuing interests in several other countries in Africa.
Its business is to mine industrial minerals and process them into value added finished products.
Mr Paunrama said Tanzania was endowed with industrial minerals which were necessary for the development of a modern economy.
He pointed out that the company would continue to plough back profits into Tanzania to add to its capital formation and industrial base.
Mr Paunrama revealed that the company intended to list on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange as soon as possible.
