National Cement to open new factory in Dire Dawa

National Cement to open new factory in Dire Dawa
28 August 2007


National Cement SC, formerly Dire Dawa Cement SC, is to construct a new cement plant in Dire Dawa at a project cost of 700 million Br. 
 
With East Africa Group Plc, possessing 80pc of the company’s shares, it was re-established in November 2005 as a joint venture with the Privatisation and Public Enterprises Supervisory Agency (PPESA), the latter commanding the remaining 20pc of the shares. 
 
The Dire Dawa Provisional Administration has granted 40hct of land to the company and the latter floated an international tender a month ago to hire a contractor. Subsequently, seven contractors’ offers are under evaluation for the bid that was closed on August 22.  
 
"We need a contractor which undertakes a turn-key project," Mekonnen Legesse, Board chairman of National Cement, told Fortune.  
 
The project site of the company is located three kilometres from the existing cement factory in Bejatu and the plant that will be erected will have a capacity to produce 45,000qt of cement per day.  
 
Established in 1938 in Dire Dawa, 500km east of Addis Abeba, National Cement SC, which has a production capacity of 25,000tpa, ceased production on September 3, 1987, due to bankruptcy and obsolescence. PPESA gave the responsibility to run the cement factory to Mugher Cement Factory in 2000, enabling the factory to commence production in January the same year.  
 
National Cement, which has 121,202 shares each having a par value of 1,000 Br, has made new arrangements allocating 100 million Br for a rehabilitation and expansion project.  
 
A Chinese Construction Company, Chaoyang Machinery Group Import and Export Ltd, will carry out the construction of the new plant, which will produce a new brand of cement, National Cement, next month.
Published under Cement News