Ethiopia will continue to offer investors in the cement industry attractive incentives as it seeks to dominate the cement trade in the wider East African region.

Cement production in the Horn of Africa nation has increased tenfold during the past decade, owing to the entry of new investors attracted by incentives like cheap electricity, government-provided land and tax incentives.

Support

“Government will continue to support investors in the cement industry by providing them with clean energy, logistics infrastructure and human resources, among others, to help them become competitive in the international market,” said Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn when he commissioned a plant owned by Habesha Cement, a joint venture involving South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation and Pretoria Portland Cement, as well as local shareholders. It is the newest cement factory in the country.

The Habesha plant’s commissioning increased Ethiopia’s cement production capacity to 16.4-million tons a year, ten times more than ten years ago. The production surge has enabled the country to not only meet its domestic needs but also export to neighbouring countries.

Ethiopia aims to produce 27-million tons of cement each year by 2020, making it an African powerhouse in cement production and a key exporter of the material.

The commissioning of Habesha Cement comes barely two years after the opening of the Dangote plant in the country, which has a yearly capacity of 2.5-million tons of cement and is the biggest in East Africa.

Yearly Production

The Habesha plant, which was constructed at a cost of $155-million by Chinese company Northern Heavy Industry, has a yearly production capacity of 1.4-million tons. It is located in Holeta town, some 35 km west of the capital, Addis Ababa.

Besides Habesha and Dangote, other cement manufacturers in Ethiopia are Mugher, Messebo, Derba Midroc and Ethio Cement.