THE government has urged local manufacturers including cement producers to enhance their competitiveness in the domestic and external markets.

The Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (Investment and Empowerment), Dr Mary Nagu, said over the weekend increased efficience and competitiveness would eventually lead to lower prices.

The minister said this when officiating the launch of aggregates production by the Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) in Dar es Salaam.

She poured praise on TPCC for continued expansion and improved productivity since it started operating in the country in the 1960s.

"This is the industry that helps to build other industries and the government surely appreciates your contributions," said Dr Nagu who later handed over the Certificate of Investment Incentives to TPCC from Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) Acting Executive Director, Raymond Mbilinyi.

The launching of Twiga Aggregates was also attended by the Germany State secretaries Anne Ruth Herkes (Ministry of Economics and Technology) and Harald Braun (Federal Foreign Office) along with German Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Klaus-Peter Brandes.

The TPCC Director General, Mr Pascal Lesoinne, said the firm decided to widen their production lines to cover aggregates as part of the 50th anniversary of TPCC. "Our company has decided to venture in the business of the second most important construction material after cement which is aggregates.

"Cement, aggregates and water are used to produce concrete," he said. Mr Lesoinne said the firm has a lot of confidence in the government and the country's economic polices. "We are ready to work closely with the government to foster consistent growth," he said.

"The Twiga Aggregates project will have a very short development phase and we are therefore confident that before the end of this year, our product will be well positioned on the market," he said. TPCC trades at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) as Twiga and on Friday, its shares were selling at 2,600/- each.