Tanzania cement firm contracts Chinese company
Posted by africanpress on May 2, 2008
Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no
By Leo Odera Omolo.
A Tanzania based cement company has awarded a USD 46 million contract to CBMs construction company of the People’s Republic of CHINA to expand its production capacity.
The Chinese firm will built a new 15-tonne clinker plant and a packer a capacity to produce 80 toumer of cement per heavy. It is expected to be completed by the year 2009.
Juarg Fluehman, the managing Director of Tanga Cement base in the Coastal town of Tanga was recently quoted in the local media as saying that the new Clinker plant will produce an additional 500,000 tonnes of cement, bringing the company total out-put to 1, 25 million tones a year.
Mr. Fluehman said the current erratic power supply is hampering the cement factory’s expression as is the unreliable transportation infrastructure, especially after Tanzania Railways Ltd closed the Tanga Railway line for repairs.
This is the first phase of the company’s expansion Project and any further investment will depend on the improvement of the correct electricity supply situation being improved in the region.
Expansion of the factory was necessitated by the rising demand for cement in the country when last year prompted the Government to waive importantly on cement imported from countries outside East African Community reducing total tax paid from 45 percent to 25 percent.
Before the waiver, such cement was subject to a 25 per cent import duty and a 20 percent surcharge tax.
Tanzania also booted importation of Cement from East African Countries by waiving the 15 percent import duty for fixed period of six months from October 2007 to April 2008.
Last year, the combined production of the three cement manufacturing companies in Tanzania, namely, Tanzania Portland Cement Company, Mbeya Cement Company Ltd and Tanga Cement – reached 1.6 Million tones against an installed capacity of 1.2 million tones.
Tanzania’s Cement Consumption per capital is star lons starting at 40kg compared with South Africa’s per capital tissue of 500kg.
Meanwhile the railway line that transverses North Eastern of the country originally
linking the Tanzania capital;, Dar Es Salaam to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa to Moshi-Arusha and then passes through ,Imo Korogwe to Tanga is now a disused and abandoned facility.
Built by colonialists under the management and supervision of the defunct East African Railways and Harbours,. The railway line is still intact in all sections. But there are signs showing that it has never been in use for close to ten years.
This is also the real line that goes from Lake Tanga to Dar Es Salaam. It is constructed to the approximately over 1000km. It use to carry quote and cargo to Moshi, Arusha, Korogwe Tanga and Dar Es Salam via Mombo in Chaliza District. In the early 1940s and the late 1950s this line was one of the busiest rail line in the management of East African Railway and Harbours Corporations, when it collapsed along with the first East African Community in 1977
Some parts of the line is visibly vendalised ,but its revival would cost less if the EAC partner states wishes to have it in use again. What is needed is the rehabilitation and erecting of new stations and sidings along the route. It would also boost the Tanga port as an alternative route to the Indian Ocean.
This line is Potential, especially to the landlocked countries like Uganda. A plan had previously envisaged
by the former EAC to reactivate the Tanga port as alternative route Uganda destined cargo of import and export Via Tanga Port to be routed to Mwanza port or Musoma in the Eastern shore of Lake Victoria.
The conservationists, however, had vehenmently opposed the proposal, arguing that the proposed new rail line would endanger the environment of wild animals inside the famous Serengeti National game Park saying the sound of moving locomotives would seriously affect the wild animals as it.would be compelled to pass through the world Game Park, which starts from Lake Manyara wounding in Lake Victoria near Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria. They argue that this route would disturb the game animals in the park and interfere with its ecological system.
Ends
Leo Odera Omolo
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African Press International – api
