Zambezi Portland Cement Limited: The Third Entrant Into The Cement Industry

Now, enter Zambezi Portland Cement Limited (ZPCL). Making it number three!

The company is based in Ndola. It started actual cement production in October 2009.The plant has a production capacity of one thousand metric tonnes per day. The entry of another cement production company in Zambia, has assured Zambians that now, the price of the commodity will go down. Why?

This makes three companies producing cement in Zambia: namely Oriental Quarries, Lafarge and now ZPCL.

The company’s projected capacity is 330,000 tonnes per year.

Indeed, the established US$40 million worth Zambezi Portland cement is set to bring competition to the present monopoly in the cement manufacturing industry.

According to Sales and Marketing Manger, Isaac Ngoma, the company is producing in conformity of local and international standards of EN-196 and EN-197.

Mr. Ngoma further said, that there would be no need to import cement since theirs was pure and did not have extenders used in its production process. He said the quality of cement was ideal for constructions and building assignments, ranging from structural works to houses.

However, among the three companies, the country’s giant cement manufacturing company is Lafarge Cement plc.

The financiers of the manufacturing plant were Eastern and Southern Africa Development Bank (known as PTA Bank), Walchandnagar Industries Limited of India and Finance Bank Zambia Limited.

The company started production despite it being placed under receivership. It was placed under receivership mid 2009 as a result of misunderstandings among its shareholders over the mode of payment from the PTA Bank.