Ethiopia: Ethiopia has increased its cement production capacity to 20Mt/yr following the inauguration of Pioneer Cement’s expansion project in Dire Dawa city, according to The Ethiopian News Agency.
Minister of Mines Habtamu Tegen said that the country has been increasing its infrastructure and building large cement plants such as Lemi Cement to meet national demand, and that it was also commissioning four coal processing plants to further increase supply, including to neighbouring markets.
The Pioneer Cement expansion was reportedly the result of a partnership between Ethiopian and Chinese investors. Pioneer Cement general manager Leon Zone said that the factory had been operational for 16 years, and that the expansion project had increased the plant’s production capacity by 0.6Mt/yr and created 550 direct jobs.