Sri Lanka post-war reconstruction spurs cement demand

Tokyo Cement, a Sri Lankan-Japanese joint venture says that cement demand in the country is being spurred by large-scale government infrastructure projects related to post-war and flood reconstruction, according to local press reports.

In its 2011/2012 annual report, Tokyo Cement also highlighted that the surge in private credit has contributed towards higher demand for cement, Daily News Sri Lanka notes. The private sector has been mainly engaged in building housing and housing schemes as well as hotels.

Last year Sri Lanka consumed 4.58Mt, up 21.6 per cent YoY. Local production, meanwhile, increased 13.6 per cent to 1.97Mt.

The company has said it is making good headway on its drive to promote green energy. "Our vision is to find ways to trim costs and also look for ways to reduce reliance on fossil fuels," SR Gnanam and K Yanagihara, Joint managing directors of, Tokyo Cement said.

The company continues to successfully generate power through a biomass power plant at the Trincomalee factory which currently generates 10MW of electricity.