N$500m investment in cement plant

A multi-million-dollar project which will see Namibia produce its own cement will soon be up and running when the country’s first cement factory is established at Otjiwarongo.

Cheetah Cement – a joint venture between local company Whale Rock Cement and CP Cement of Brazil – said a massive investment was being brought into the country through the cement project, whose main aim is to build the country’s first cement factory. Construction of the cement plant is to start in March next year and the total project investment is between N$450 million and N$500 million.The project is to be carried out in three phases and the factory should be complete and ready to deliver after three years.The output of the factory is expected to be between 500 000 tonnes and 600 000 tonnes of cement per year for the next 45 years.Some 500 people would be employed directly by the factory while another 4 000 jobs are expected to be created indirectly through this venture.The first phase of the project has already started with Cheetah Cement currently importing 18 000 tonnes of cement monthly from Brazil, and a packaging plant being set up in Walvis Bay.Machinery for this plant is expected to arrive in the country within a month and packaging of the cement locally is then expected to commence.Carlos Alberto Ribeiro said his company carried out a feasibility study about a year ago and decided to work on this project and go into partnership with Whale Rock Cement.He said the limestone found at the Cleveland site in Otjiwarongo was of excellent quality and promised that Cheetah Cement would produce high-quality cement of international standards.Cheetah Cement local partner Zedekias Gowaseb said a search had been carried among many cement companies from around the world; and CP Cement was selected by the locals for a partnership.He added that such a project would ease the costs of cement and building materials and also the high prices of local properties.Those gathered heard that the cement will mainly be for local consumption and that Cheetah Cement was also eyeing the Angolan market.Ribeiro and Gowaseb were speaking at the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Windhoek, where they had paid a call to brief the NCCI and local businesspeople of their project.NCCI CEO Tarah Shaanika welcomed the cement project and said such investment would help in boosting the country’s economy.CP Cement of Brazil produces 3,5 million tonnes of cement per year.Construction of the cement plant is to start in March next year and the total project investment is between N$450 million and N$500 million.The project is to be carried out in three phases and the factory should be complete and ready to deliver after three years. The output of the factory is expected to be between 500 000 tonnes and 600 000 tonnes of cement per year for the next 45 years.Some 500 people would be employed directly by the factory while another 4 000 jobs are expected to be created indirectly through this venture.The first phase of the project has already started with Cheetah Cement currently importing 18 000 tonnes of cement monthly from Brazil, and a packaging plant being set up in Walvis Bay.Machinery for this plant is expected to arrive in the country within a month and packaging of the cement locally is then expected to commence.Carlos Alberto Ribeiro said his company carried out a feasibility study about a year ago and decided to work on this project and go into partnership with Whale Rock Cement.He said the limestone found at the Cleveland site in Otjiwarongo was of excellent quality and promised that Cheetah Cement would produce high-quality cement of international standards.Cheetah Cement local partner Zedekias Gowaseb said a search had been carried among many cement companies from around the world; and CP Cement was selected by the locals for a partnership.He added that such a project would ease the costs of cement and building materials and also the high prices of local properties.Those gathered heard that the cement will mainly be for local consumption and that Cheetah Cement was also eyeing the Angolan market.Ribeiro and Gowaseb were speaking at the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Windhoek, where they had paid a call to brief the NCCI and local businesspeople of their project.NCCI CEO Tarah Shaanika welcomed the cement project and said such investment would help in boosting the country’s economy.CP Cement of Brazil produces 3,5 million tonnes of cement per year.