Schwenk Zement International GmbH & Co KG, is still desperate to exit Namibia barely 10 years after investing in a state-of-the-art factory, according to local press reports.
Schwenk set up the 0.7Mta Ohorongo Cement plant in Otavi in 2010 with minority shareholding from development banks, including the Development Bank of Namibia. Less than a decade on, Schwenk was already looking to sell the Namibian business, but the move was blocked by the competition commission in 2020.
Controversy now surrounds the second exit attempt, according to The Namibian. Namibian politicians are accusing Ohorongo’s owners of acting in bad faith by not offering the business to natives of the country instead of West China Ltd, according to The Namibian.
Ohorongo Cement was unhappy that Namibia allowed the import of bulk cement from China by a darling of Swapo politicians, Jack Huang’s Jack’s Trading CC, for the Namibian Port Authority’s expansion of the Walvis Bay harbour, instead of using local cement.
The other established cement producer in Namibia is the Whale Rock Cement (Pty) Ltd, which operates a 0.825Mta plant in Otiwarongo. However, the African Portland Cement company is planning to build a 0.2Mta cement plant in Otiwarongo.
