Sinopia News Top

Ethiopia Imports 400,000 Tonnes of Cement

The Ethiopian Public Procurement and Disposal Agency (PPDA) announced that it had bought 400,000 tonnes of ordinary Portland cement for 34.6 million dollars from D.G Khan Company Limited (DGKCC) of Pakistan and Global Africa of Israel.

According to the agency, the first shipment of 150,000 tonnes of cement is due to arrive in two weeks time.

The cement is to be used for the construction of housing projects in Addis Ababa, new sugar factories and roads, Yigezu Daba, director general of the Public Procurement & Property Disposal Service at the agency, said.

The country's demand for cement stands at 11 million tonnes while the combined capacity of the 11 cement factories in Ethiopia is 2.3 million tonnes a year.

The state owned Mugher and Messebo cement factories, which are in the final stages of expansion, are the largest producers in the nation. Their combined production accounts for 57.5 percent of the 2.3 million tonnes currently produced.

Three months ago, the government of Ethiopia purchased 400,000 tonnes of cement from Pakistan for the construction of houses, roads, and sugar plants.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development ordered Muger to build a new cement factory with the capacity to produce twice as much as it is producing currently. After its expansion is completed, Muger is expected to produce 1.7 million tonnes of cement a year.

Source: Fortune