Rise in cement consumption prompts expansion plans in Sri Lanka

Cement consumption in Sri Lanka increased by 25.3 per cent YoY in 2016, to 7.99Mt from 6.37Mt. While local cement production also rose by 17.8 per cent to 2.69Mt from 2.28Mt in 2015, imports increased 29.5 per cent to 5.29Mt from 4.09Mt in 2015.

This growth in consumption has prompted an expansion plan by Tokyo Cement Company Lanka Plc. In 2017 the company invested over LKR7.3bn (US$47.6m) to increase domestic production by 1Mt. Although no time frame has been announced, the company is also looking to increase total cement production to 2.8Mta from 1.8Mta and become energy self-sufficient with an 8MW biomass plant.