Ethiopia’s petroleum enterprise is negotiating with delegates of Progress Gulf to import 25,000 tons of anthracite coal for 
use in smaller cement factories with vertical furnaces.
The shipment is expected to cost an estimated 4.2 million US dollars to supply a portion of the 360,000 tons of coal, which is the projected annual demand for the small cement plants in the country.
The procedure to procure the coal was conducted by the Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise, under mandate from the Ministry of Trade, which invited 6 companies to make offers in a closed tender.
Progress Gulf won the tender making an offer of 168.4 dollars per ton of anthracite coal according to sources at EPE.
Smaller factories expected to make use of the anthracite coal due to their vertical kilns that make the use of steam coal unfeasible include Abyssinia, CH Clinker, Enchini Medrock, Jemma, and Huang Shan.
In related news the larger cement factories, including Messebo and National Cement factories have been slow in clearing the steam coal imported from South Africa last July.
The factories have been forced to reassess the amount of coal that they will need following the depressed demand for coal on the national market although Messebo expects to clear it coal soon according to Asey Berhe, General Manager of Messebo.
The factories have arranged to pay for the coal after it’s been cleared from port and all costs haven totaled according to an arrangement made with P.G. Phillipas, representing.
Source: Capital
