Tanzania Portland Cement net profit rises 22 per cent cost efficiencies

Tanzania Portland Cement Co, part of the HeidelbergCement Group, reported a 22 per cent rise in net profit in 2012 to TZS61.57bn thanks to tighter cost control and despite competition from imports.

Operations at the 1.4Mta plant in Wazo Hill, situated 25km outside the capital Dar es Salaam, were also supported by the return of stable power supply as well as an eight per cent growth in construction activity. Cement demand, meanwhile, rose to 2.7Mt from 2.23Mt in 2011.

To meet the market demand, in mid-2012, the company completed the modernisation of Kiln Line 3, raising clinker capacity at the plant by 250,000tpa to 1.1Mta and, more importantly, ending its reliance on imported clinker.

In February 2013 the company announced plans to build a new 0.7Mta cement mill at the works. The US$40m investment will also include a new clinker and cement silos as well as new packing and dispatch facilities. The new mill is scheduled to be commissioned in late 2014.