Lafarge may build new plant in Zimbabwe
Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe says it may build a new cement manufacturing plant in Zimbabwe to increase its installed capacity to 1Mt in five years, but cautioned this would depend on the outcome of a feasibility study currently underway.
The local unit of Lafarge the country’s second-largest cement producer. Its plant, on a systematic ramp-up since dollarisation, is currently utilising about 70% of available capacity, which is seen increasing as local markets recover from a decade-long recession. “It looks to be a more and efficient plant since we’re investing in renovations,” Lafarge SA CEO and chairman Bruno Lafont said in Harare on Friday.
“We’ve invested US$15m on the plant over the last five years. The future will require more investments from the group. We’ll have to increase our growth in Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries. We’re currently in the middle of our studies. We want to increase capacity in Zimbabwe to 1Mt in the next five years. This will be followed by other investments.” Lafont added: “It’s not a commitment yet, we’re in the middle of our studies.” Published under Cement News
