MBEYA Cement Co. Limited is set to expand production outlays with investments billed at 871.8bn/- ($320m) now in the offing.

Nehemiah Mchechu, the Treasury registrar, said at a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the three-year projects are expected to generate 12,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The main part is expanding Mbeya Cement’s current clinker production capacity pegged at 1,000 tons a day, setting up a new clinker factory in Tanga valued at worth $190m.

The factory will see its clinker production capacity rising to 5,000 tons a day in the next three years, boosting its industry profile where the government holds 25 percent of company shares, with 10 percent held by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

Amsons Industries (T) Ltd, part of a chain of companies tied with the Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund (AATIF), holds majority shares at 65 percent

“Following a boom in state-owned construction mega projects such as the SGR network, BRT in Dar es Salaam, tarmac and concrete roads projects, enhancing clinker and cement manufacturing sounds logical in line with current growth forecasts,” he said.

Tanzania is among ten countries with the highest rates of population growth, estimated at 65m people present, up from the August 2022 Census total of 61.7m, he said.

The growth in population pushes up demand in residential and commercial properties in urban and rural areas, he said, hinting that the factory dominates the market share.

In that regard, shareholders see the importance of enhancing production to survive the tremendous competition, he stated, pointing at nearby markets of Malawi, Zambia, DRC.

The southern highlands region are a major target in the projects as when completed the firm will raise total production to 10,000 tons of clinker on a daily basis, he said.

Ahmed Mhada, the firm’s director of finance, said that the company anticipates growth in cement manufacturing to attain 4.2m tons on a daily basis, boosting the brand’s market share two-fold.

 Mid this year the country had a total of 14 cement factories, of which seven are integrated plants and seven are small factories, with cement production for the year 2023 which reflects the demand of the market, standing at 8.0m tons.

Local factories produced 9.1m tons of cement, with an excess of 1.1m tons that was eventually directed at export markets. 

Dangote Industries Ltd, Tanzania Portland Cement Plc, Lake Cement Co. Ltd, Mbeya Cement Co. Ltd and Tanga Cement Plc are all engaged in cement production and exports, he said.

"These companies sell cement in Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, DRC and Zambia,” he said, affirming that the sector was employing 17,885 workers as of April 2024. A total of 4,176 workers are directly employed and 13,709 others are indirectly employed," he said in his remarks.

During fiscal 2023/24, the government permitted Amsons Industries (T) Ltd, holder of the Camel brand of cement, to acquire the Mbeya Cement Co. Ltd.

This is expected to increase Clinker production to 1.2m tons from 305,000 tons per year, raising cement production by 60 percent to 1.68m tons from 1m tons per year.

A favourable environment is in place in cement sub-sector with a 35 percent duty on imported cement to protect local manufacturers, thus the government encourages cement producers to increase production to gain stable productivity and be competitive in foreign markets, he added, citing the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).