Lafarge builds new plant in Zambia
2007-04-04 00:00:00
< DIV > France's Lafarge Zambia -- Chilanga Cement said on Monday that it was building a cement plant with an annual capacity of 800,000 tons to strengthen cement exports to the Great Lakes region and southern Africa.
< DIV > Eugene Chungu, Chilanga's corporate affairs manager, said the company owned two cement plants and was listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange. At present, the company has raised 120 million US dollars for the construction of the new plant by relying on its own assets and international loans.
< DIV > Chungu said Lafarge, which has an 84.5% stake in Chilanga, currently produces 650,000 tons of cement annually and will increase its annual capacity by 800,000 tons when construction of the new plant ends in 2008. "After the new plant is completed, the company's production capacity will be increased by 800,000 tons, and we also hope to expand exports to regional markets," he said.
< DIV > Chungu noted that Chilanga exported 137,000 tons of cement in 2006, but cement exports will be curtailed due to the growth of domestic cement demand this year. Once the production capacity is increased, the company will expand its cement exports to regional markets, such as Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
< DIV > Chungu said that due to the construction of domestic housing and office buildings, as well as the construction of new copper and cobalt mines, the domestic demand for cement has increased sharply, and Chilanga's current production has been unable to meet. In 2006, Chilanga's turnover fell to K282.3 billion, compared to K299.9 billion in 2005. In response, the company said in an independent announcement: "In 2006, the company's production was limited, transportation capacity was insufficient, 
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