Ethiopian authorities close two plants on low standard
Two small-sized Ethiopian cement plants operated by Huwaei Plc and Debresina Business Industries, respectively have been banned from manufacturing cement, after the Ethiopian Quality and Standards Authority (EQSA) found their products to be below standard.
Both factories are to return the quality authentication seal given to them by the authority.
This comes as a result of a surprise inspection the authority made on nine cement factories, in November 2010, according to Gashaw Tesfaye, acting director general of the Ethiopian Conformity Assessment Organisation (ECAO).
“We had received many complaints from customers over a two-week period, prompting the surprise inspection,” he told Fortune.
Samples that were taken from the premises of the factories were tested in the EQSA’s laboratories and the analysis completed last Monday.
The samples were tested for meeting the authority’s mechanical, physical, chemical, and durability requirements, according to Gashaw. Both plants failed to meet these requirements. As a result, they were banned from producing or selling cement and ordered to recall the cement they have already sold.
The factories will remain closed until they start producing according to the required standards, the EQSA said in a press release.
Debresina, started operations at its 90,000tpa plant in Holeta Town early last year, and Huwaei Plc, started production at its 150,000tpa plant near Adama Town, in November 2010.
Published under Cement News
