Zimbabwe: PPC Zimbabwe has commissioned its 0.7Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Msasa. The plant was built by China’s Sinoma International for a cost of US$85m.
At a tour of the plant PPC Zimbabwe managing director, Kelibone Masiyane complained about the cost of electricity in the country compared to its neighbours. “If you go to Zambia, they charge US$0.06 and we are setting up a plant in Ethiopia, where they charge about US$0.03. As such, competing in other countries will be difficult for Zimbabwe. Transporting cement from Botswana is quite expensive, so we are hoping that the plant will help with that,” he said in comments reported by the News Day newspaper. He added that the cost of electricity in Zimbabwe is US$0.15. Ideally PPC Zimbabwe would like to export cement to Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique.
