Secil Lobito outlines plans for new plant, Angola

Secil Lobito plans to invest US$187m in a new cement plant in in Lobito, Angola, the company's chief executive has said.

Augusto Manuel Miragaia, CEO of Secil Lobito, told local press that the new 1.2Mta plant will be built located some 200km from the company’s 0.35Mta grinding works which is situated near Lobito port. A construction start date is yet to be confirmed.

Secil Lobito is a joint venture between the Portuguese Secil Group (51 per cent) and the Angolan state (49 per cent). Its grinding plant is served entirely by imported clinker. The company had previously announced its intention to build an integrated greenfield plant but plans had seemingly stalled due to financing and shareholder issues. No date has been announced for the construction of the newly-planned facility.

Total cement capacity in Angola, which is currently 4.7Mta, is set to expand significantly over the coming five years and will reach 10.7Mta by 2016 – providing all projects that are currently on the table come to fruition. This is likely to lead to an oversupply situation over the 2015-17 period, but with robust annual demand predicted, consumption is forecast to double from 5.01Mta in 2012 to 10Mta by 2020.