HeidelbergCement commissions new grinding plant in Ghana

HeidelbergCement has commissioned a new cement mill with a 1Mta capacity at its Tema cement grinding plant in Ghana.

HeidelbergCement’s new 1Mta grinding mill in Tema, Ghana

Ghacem, a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, operates two cement grinding plants in the coastal cities of Tema and Takoradi, Ghana. With the commissioning of the new mill, Ghacem has increased its cement grinding capacity to 3.7Mta. Capital expenditure for the new project amounted to €16m.

With around 300,000 inhabitants, Tema is one of the most important coastal cities of the country, located 25km to the east of the capital of Accra, HeidelbergCement noted in a statement.

“The commissioning of the new cement mill is part of our strategy of focusing on expanding our clinker and cement capacities in attractive growth markets. In addition to Asia and Eastern Europe, these include, in particular, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa,” said Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement.

“Ghana’s stable democracy and dynamic economic growth lead to a quickly rising demand for high quality cement and other building materials for infrastructure and residential construction. We will continue our growth strategy in sub-Saharan Africa: in September, we already announced the construction of a new clinker plant and a new cement grinding installation in the neighbouring country of Togo.”

According to forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ghana’s economy is expected to grow by more than eight per cent in 2012. In addition to gold, timber and cocoa, the traditional main exports of the country, oil production off Ghana’s coast has become another important driving force for the economy.