Conch Cement intends to build its first cement plant in Africa in Tanzania

Recently, Professor Kittila Mkumbo, Minister of Planning and Investment of Tanzania, met with Anhui Conch Cement Co., Ltd., one of the largest cement producers in China, which clearly expressed its investment intention. It regards Tanzania as "the preferred place to enter the African market" and plans to set up local operations to fill the gap in the regional market.

The minister's statement pointed out that such investment had a far-reaching impact on Tanzania's construction and infrastructure industry, with an increase in roads, railways, urban development and other projects in Tanzania, and the demand for cement continued to grow.

Faced with the investment of Chinese businessmen, the Tanzanian government has given a positive response: shorten the approval process, reduce the entry threshold; improve the efficiency of government cooperation, and protect the rights and interests of investors.

However, according to the data, Tanzania's demand in 2024 is about 8.5 million tons, while its production capacity has exceeded 10 million tons. On the surface, there is a surplus, but in fact, about 2.4 million tons of surplus capacity have been digested through exports. The current market structure is dominated by Huaxin Cement (25%), Dangote (23%), TPC (15%) and Tanga (10%).

In fact, HOLTEC predicts that Tanzania's cement demand will increase to 12 million tons in 2028, with an average annual growth rate of 7%, with the promotion of large-scale infrastructure projects such as the second phase of Nyerere Hydropower Station, the Central Standard Gauge Railway (Dar es Salaam-Morogoro-Ithaca) and the increase of urbanization rate.

Tanzania is the logistics hub of East Africa. Neighboring countries such as Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are seriously short of cement, and the cost of land transportation is much lower than that of sea imports. If an enterprise builds a factory in Tanzania, it actually occupies a geographical advantage and can directly radiate to seize the regional market of 280 million people in East Africa.