HeidelbergCement’s new cement mill in Ghana

674 HeidelbergCement has commissioned a new cement mill with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes at its Tema cement grinding plant in Ghana. Capital expenditure was €16 million.

With around 300,000 inhabitants, Tema is one of the most important coastal cities of the country, and is 25km east of the capital Accra.

HeidelbergCement’s subsidiary, Ghacem, operates two cement grinding plants in the coastal cities of Tema and Takoradi, and with the commissioning of the new mill, the company increased its cement grinding capacity to 3.7 million tonnes.

“The commissioning of the new cement mill is part of our strategy of focusing on expanding our clinker and cement capacities in attractive growth markets. In addition to Asia and Eastern Europe, these include, in particular, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa,” said Dr. Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.

“Ghana’s stable democracy and dynamic economic growth lead to a quickly rising demand for high quality cement and other building materials for infrastructure and residential construction. We will continue our growth strategy in sub-Saharan Africa: in September, we already announced the construction of a new clinker plant and a new cement grinding installation in the neighbouring country of Togo.”

According to the prognosis of the 4362 International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ghana’s economy is expected to grow by more than 8% in 2012. In addition to gold, timber and cocoa, the traditional main exports of the country, oil production off Ghana’s coast has become another important driving force for the economy.