Windhoek
Cheetah Cement says it intends making a return to the local market with a cement manufacturing plant in Otjiwarongo that constitutes a total investment of US$30 million. The cement plant, which will be constructed by Whale Rock Cement, has drawn interest from Chinese investors, who together with the parent company aim to produce 1.5 million tonnes of cement per year.
The construction period for the new plant will be 18 to 20 months and is expected to create around 400 direct job opportunities and economic benefits of more than US$30 million. Whale Rock Cement has reportedly invested approximately N$21 million in the project.
Whale Rock Cement was first registered in Namibia in 2004 when it first expressed interest in establishing a cement factory in the country. “Together with our partners, we have performed a comprehensive investigation of the plot, limestone, clay, wasted iron ore, and gypsum which are necessary for this cement plant. And we found that all these resources meet our requirements. However, there are still some issues such as the supply of electricity and water which we would like to request the relevant parastatals to help with,” said Cheetah Cement’s spokesperson, Manfred
/Uxamb at a signing ceremony in Windhoek last week.
He added that a comprehensive feasibility study on the viability of the project has already been completed. During the limestone survey specifically, 15 holes at 45-degree angles were drilled and the content was sent to Brazil for analysis. The survey also included market research that proved that the project is feasible.
Two environmental impact assessment studies were also done, for the mining and manufacturing at the Cleveland Farm where the cement plant will be situated.
“Rehabilitation programs have been done both for the mine and plant. Extensive consultation was done through the media, public consultative meetings, stakeholder meetings in Otjiwarongo and surroundings to sensitize the inhabitants in the region. The study was also presented to the government through the Ministry of Environment and Tourism as well as the Ministry of Trade and Industry and it was approved,” added /Uxamb. He further noted that drilling for the determination of limestone has been completed and the results have proven that the limestone deposits can produce cement for more than 40 years.
Whale Rock Cement company has availed own funds and has employed Corsan Engineering to design the plant and analyse the quality of raw materials for suitable equipment on site.
Cheetah Cement, through Whale Rock, signed a memorandum of understanding with Asia and Africa Business Management (Xi’an) Co. Ltd. This company and its associates have 30 years’ experience of cement production with 6 000 employees under management.
“As we all know, currently there is one cement plant in Namibia with the production capacity of more than 500 000 tonnes per annum. After the establishment of our cement plant, the production capacity will be larger than Namibian cement market demand.
However, it is not discouraging us to continue with the huge investment we envisage. We are planning to penetrate all possible markets irrespective of location,” continued /Uxamb.
Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Namibia, Xin Shunkang, who attended the signing ceremony, said that there is no reason for Namibia to not approach Chinese investors to speed up the process of industrialisation.