Displaying items by tag: Uganda
East African Portland Cement brings in the auditors
15 November 2016Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPC) has hired Ernst & Young to conduct a forensic audit of its business following reports that the company is technically bankrupt and may have lost around US$7.1m worth of stock from its warehouses since 2014. Cement stock valued at US$4m went missing in Kenya and US$3.1m disappeared in Uganda, according to the Business Daily newspaper. Ernst & Young started work for the state-owned cement producer in early November 2016.
Intercem marks progress on Kampala Cement grinding plant
10 October 2016Uganda: Intercem has released details on its project to build a cement grinding plant for Kampala Cement. The equipment producer has supplied a 90t/hr cement grinding plant with a ball mill, a clinker storage and four 1000t steel cement silos.
Intercem’s scope of supply included all works except for the foundations. Three separate vibration feeders, two belt conveyors and a bucket elevator were installed. The four silos dispose of truck loading stations and the finished product is transported via air conveyor troughs from the silos to the new packing line. The contract between Kampala Cement and Intercem was originally signed in September 2014.
An additional contract was placed by Kampala Cement at the end of 2015 to order a Pozzolan-Dryer as well as a further storage for primary crushing and drying of the raw material due to the discovery of a higher humidity content of the raw material than originally specified. Construction and installation of these additional assets has finished and the plant including the Pozzolan-Dryer, with a throughput of 40 t/hr, has also been commissioned.
Ugandan government to build cement plant in Karamoja
07 October 2016Uganda: The government intends to build a cement plant in Karamoja in partnership with Moroto Ateker Cement. The company is a formation of Uganda Development Corporation and Savannah Mines, a local firm based in Karamoja, with a shareholding of 51% and 49% respectively, according to the Monitor newspaper. Moroto Aterer has contracted India’s Saboo Technologies to build the cement plant in the Moroto Industrial Park. Saboo has completed a feasibility study and say that the plant will be completed in two phases.
Hima Cement to build US$40m grinding plant in Uganda
22 September 2016Uganda: Hima Cement plans to build a grinding plant at Nyakesi, Tororo district at a cost of US$40m to meet demand for local infrastructure projects and for regional markets. The plant will be built near to the plant of Hima’s competitor, Tororo Cement. It will add an additional 1Mt/yr of cement production capacity to the company.
"Hima Cement is committed to ensuring sufficient cement capacity to serve the national infrastructure and construction projects, individuals and the commercial sector. As a result, we are embarking on several capacity building projects, starting with the construction of a grinding plant at the end of 2016,” said Daniel Pettersson, the CEO of Hima Cement. He added that the company is also in the final stages of exploration for a limestone site in North East Uganda to support a future clinker plant.
In 2010, Hima Cement invested US$120m towards building a new production line at its plant in Kasese. This project increased the plant’s production capacity to 0.9Mt/yr. On completion, the Tororo expansion will further increase Hima Cement's capacity to around 1.9Mt/yr.
Hima Cement signs cement supply deal with Guangzhou Dongsong
15 September 2016Uganda: Hima Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding with Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group Company for the supply of over 40,000t of cement. The deal is to support the construction of industrial projects on an industrial park in Sukulu, according to the Kampala Observer. Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group is a Chinese company that holds a lease to mine and process phosphates in Sukulu, Tororo district.
"The purpose of this memorandum of understanding is to establish the relationship between Hima and Guangzhou Dongsong. This cooperation of both parties shall cover the project of construction of the phosphate plant and steel plant, and any other projects within the Sukulu industrial park," said Daniel Pettersson, the chief executive officer of Hima Cement Uganda. Hima Cement also hopes to be able to purchase slag from the steel plant once it is built.
Victoria Equipment to distribute Sandvik Construction equipment and services in Uganda
30 March 2016Uganda: Sandvik Construction has announced that Victoria Equipment is its new distributor in Uganda. Victoria Equipment will supply a range of Sandvik equipment, and provide aftermarket care, spare parts and customer service. The agreement was formalised in February 2016.
"The additional portfolio (of Sandvik equipment) will bring heavy duty equipment and technical expertise closer to our end user as opposed to flying in technicians from abroad," said Sam Kibuuka the Financial Director of General Machinery Group, the holding company for Victoria Equipment.
Sandvik Construction specialises in equipment, tools and service for the breaking, drilling and crushing niches in the construction industry. Application areas include tunnelling, quarrying, well drilling, civil engineering, dimensional stone, demolition and recycling.
Uganda: Excise duty on cement is set to be doubled in the 2016 – 2017 budget as part of a set of measures designed to increase government expenditure. The excise duty charged on a 50kg bag of cement is to be raised to US$0.29 from US$0.15. Industry commentators in local press have warned that this could raise market prices, depress consumer demand and discourage new investments. Other commodities affected by the increased duties include petrol and vehicle lubricants.
“Cement is a very price sensitive product among retail buyers and the proposed tax increase could suffocate demand patterns. This situation has partly resulted in relatively small margins of about $0.05 earned per bag among local dealers. I feel the excise duty rate on cement should have been kept stable to allow producers and agents to remain afloat under difficult economic conditions,” said Joseph Kitone, a hardware dealer quoted by the East African newspaper.
Ugandan president heckled over Indian workers at Tororo Cement
01 September 2015Uganda: President Yoweri Museveni has been heckled at a road commissioning ceremony by residents of Tororo alleging that Tororo Cement (TCL) is employing more Indian nationals than local citizens. The cement producer denied any wrongdoing, stating that 'barely' 5% of its staff are Asian, according to local media. The president has promised to look into the matter.
"Out of 1000 employes we have, only 50 are Indians. The rest are Ugandans," said TCL chief executive officer Mohan Gagrani.
TCL has also faced claims that its trucks are damaging Uganada's new road networks through overloading. It has denied any responsibility due to its use of contracted vehicles.
Bamburi Cement profit up 94% in first half
28 August 2015Kenya: Bamburi Cement has reported a 94% jump in its pre-tax profit for the first half of 2015 to US$43m compared to the first half of 2014. Turnover grew to US$186m from US$166m, as governments and others continued to invest in infrastructure projects.
The company attributed the strong performance to growth in demand in its two main markets of Uganda and Kenya, cost cutting and gains in its US-Dollar-based liquid assets due to a steep weakening of the Ugandan and Kenyan currencies. Exports to other African markets were also strong.
"The outlook for the rest of 2015 is stable, with projected and continued positive growth in all regional East African economies," said Bamburi in a statement.
Uganda: Tororo Cement Limited has invested US$25 - 30m towards the expansion of its cement plant, taking its capacity from the current 1.8Mt/yr to 3Mt/yr to meet regional demand.
Brij Mohan Gragrani, Tororo Cement executive director, said that the company would construct a new grinding mill, cement storage silos, rotary packers, clinker feeding system and clinker sheds. "The expansion is proposed in view of market demand in Uganda and neighbouring countries," said Mohan Gragrani.