HeidelbergCement expands its cement capacity in Liberia
In Liberia, HeidelbergCement has successfully commissioned a new cement mill at its cement grinding plant in the capital city of Monrovia. The investment in the new mill, which has an annual capacity of 0.5 million tonnes, amounted to US$ 14 million.
The Liberian subsidiary Cemenco is the only cement producer in Liberia and has a strong market position. The company is part of HeidelbergCement’s network of cement grinding facilities on the West African coast supporting the Group’s regional strategic presence. By setting up adequate capacities to better serve the growing market in important coastal cities, HeidelbergCement aims at maintaining its competitive edge in West Africa.
“The construction of the new cement mill in Liberia is in line with our strategy of modernizing and expanding clinker and cement capacities in emerging markets,” says Dr. Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “In particular the countries of sub-Saharan Africa have a very high growth potential due to their early stage of industrialisation. In Ghana, we recently increased the cement grinding capacity at our Tema cement plant and are currently building a new cement mill in Takoradi. Together with our existing plants in this region, the new mill in Liberia strengthens our coastal network in West Africa.”
Investment in the new cement grinding facility in Liberia includes a two-chambered 65 tph ball mill with high efficiency separator, filter, fan, and flow meter. The power supply of the new cement grinding mill is provided through a 5.7 MW generator plant on a rental basis.
Economic outlook for Liberia and the sub-Saharan countries is positive. While the IMF expects GDP to grow by 7.5% in Liberia in 2013, it anticipates a growth between 5% and 6% in sub-Saharan countries in general in 2013 and 2014. Cement demand is also expected to rise benefiting from infrastructure projects and the mining industry.
HeidelbergCement is currently conducting investment projects in sub-Saharan Africa amounting to almost US$ 400 million. They include expansion projects of cement capacity of about 3 million tonnes and of clinker capacity of 1.5 million tonnes.
About HeidelbergCement
HeidelbergCement is one of the largest building materials manufacturers worldwide, as the global market leader in aggregates and with leading positions in cement, concrete, and other downstream activities. The Group employs around 52,000 people at almost 2,500 locations in more than 40 countries.
HeidelbergCement is already operating 13 plants in eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Benin, DR Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Togo. In addition, HeidelbergCement is constructing a new greenfield plant in Burkina Faso.
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