Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
Wudineh Zenebe
26 August 2008
Avorniga, an Israeli company that leases the Addis Abeba Cement Plant from Mugher Cement Factory has procured 22,000tn of clinker from Pakistan. The clinker - a cement input needed to produce cement - docked at the Port of Djibouti last week.
Avorniga is the second company to import clinker, the first being the Chinese company CGC Overseas. The clinker is imported duty free, a reliable source at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) told Fortune.
Two months ago, CGC launched a new brand of cement made from the imported clinker - Koka Cement - on the market. Its cement factory is located around Koka, 98Km east of Addis Abeba in the Oromia Regional State.
Avorniga has followed suit. The Addis Abeba Cement Plant had been using clinker processed by Mugher, until the Israeli Company took over the plant.
The company is set to introduce a new brand of cement - Avorniga Cement - to the market. The cement is being produced according to the specifications of the Mugher Cement Factory.
"We will supervise the company and undertake a quarterly performance evaluation," Wondimu Tegegn, general manager of the Addis Abeba Plant of Mugher Cement Factory, told Fortune.
Addis Abeba Cement Plant, located in Kirkos District of Gotera, was built in 1964. Initially it had a production capacity of 70,000tn annually. However, in 1996 the plant was forced to stop production of clinker because of the increase in emission levels from the old machinery, which polluted the surrounding areas. It was transformed into a grinding plant, getting about 100,000tn of clinker per year from Mugher cement factory for the production of mainly ordinary Portland Cement, with Portland Pozzolana Cement being produced when the need arises. The plant has two cement mills, each with a grinding capacity of 12.5tn per hour.
Avorniga envisages supplying 160,000tns of cement per year. This is a close to eight per cent increase as compared to what the currently active cement factories are supplying.
Presently, Ethiopia's annual production of cement stands at 1.82 million tonnes. However, the yearly demand-supply shortfall is estimated to be more than two million tonnes.
Up to April 8, 2008, a total of 24 companies had permits to invest in the cement production sector out of which 10 have secured land and three have begun operations. However, they are far from filling the gap between demand and supply.
The government has thus decided to import one million quintals of cement every year to bridge this gap. For instance, 78,771 metric tonnes of cement docked at Djibouti on August 5, 2008. There has also been an increase on investments in cement plants.
Over 20 investors have so far been licensed to build cement factories - 13 have begun installation and construction works, while the remaining are undertaking studies that will lead to construction.
Jema, Abyssinia, CGC, and Dejen (Derba-MIDROC) cement factories in Oromia Regional State have already started cement production.
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