Basic HTML Version
209
www.ebizguides.com
Transport, Works Supply & Communications
and is the newest entrant into the domestic cement
industry. The company is based in Ndola and began
production of Portland cement (42.5N) in November
2009, following the construction of a US$150 million
cement manufacturing plant. The financiers are all
Zambian Institutions. Walchandnagar Industries
Limited of India also helped to erect the plant. The
plant has a projected production capacity of approxi-
mately 1,200 metric tonnes per day.
Zambezi Portland Cement’s establishment brought
much needed competition to the cement manufac-
turing industry and has assured Zambians that the
price of cement will now become increasingly market
driven. Zambezi Portland Cement will further influ-
ence the industry through its competitive pricing,
which it arrived at after undertaking a price survey of
similar products in the region.
“Only a few countries in Southern Africa can boast
production of the 42.5N Portland cement that ZPCL
produces. We have been met with great success
due to our high quality, which has never been seen
before in Zambia. For our clients, we could not have
come at a better time.
Antonio Ventriglia
Managing Director
Zambian mining and construction companies can
now source high quality cement domestically as op-
posed to having to import it from South Africa. This
offers their clients the ability to significantly cut costs
and also handle orders quickly and keep delivery
times low.
The company is producing according to local and
international standards of EN-196 and EN-197. ZP-
CL’s products do not require the use of extenders in
their production process, as it is already of superior
quality and high strength. The quality of the cement
is ideal for all constructions and building assign-
ments, ranging from structural works to houses. Ad-
ditionally, Zambezi Portland Cement does not import
any of the raw materials required for the production
of their cement.
“Everything we produce is of top quality and is made
with the use of all Zambian inputs. Therefore our ce-
ment is purely Zambian.”
Manuela Ventriglia
Executive Director
Within Zambezi Portland Cement’s first year of pro-
duction, the company swept the local market and
is operating at full capacity. As of December 2010,
ZPCL supplies 90% of the Copperbelt mines, all of
the ministries and are also supplying several multi-
million dollar construction projects. The first of these
projects is the construction of the Ndola Stadium.
This development helped bring prestige and trust to
the Zambezi Portland Cement brand. Anhui Foreign
Economic Construction Corporation, the Chinese
contractor responsible for the stadium’s construc-
tion, completed an inspection of ZPCL’s product and
after realizing the high quality of their cement, they
agreed to buy all the cement required for the 41,000-
seat Ndola Stadium.
Additional big complex building projects supplied by
ZPCL include the supply of cement for large contrac-
tors such as Hua-Giang Investments, a company that
has been contracted to build houses for police offic-
ers countrywide and Covec Congo, a company that
is working on several road projects in Lubumbashi.
In Zambia there are many large-scale projects cur-
rently in development, including the Kariba North
Bank Extension project, the construction of the
Itezhi-Itezhi Hydro Dam, and the construction of the
Kafue Gorge Lower Power station. Zambezi Port-
land Cement hopes to supply all three of these pro-
jects and is currently in negotiations to help realize
this opportunity.
As Zambezi Portland Cement is rapidly fulfilling the
domestic demand, the company is now studying the
possibility of supplying cement to the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC). There is a large demand
for high quality cement and ZPCL aims to capital-
ize on the regional market. Companies in Burundi,
Rwanda, and Malawi have also expressed interest
in importing Zambezi Portland cement from Zambia.
Due to the great interest shown in Zambia to supply
the aforementioned projects, as well as the increas-
ing international interest by the region, Zambezi
Portland Cement is selling its entire production and
will therefore be expanding its production capac-
ity from 1,200 metric tonnes a day to 1,500 metric
tonnes by June 2011.
Zambezi Portland Cement offers great value to Zam-
bia, not only through the supply of world class ce-
ment, but also through the employment and training
of many Zambians and through a great deal of social
programs aimed at improving the lives of Zambians.
ZPCL provides cement for the Government’s rural
development projects and in July 2010 the company
contributed 600 50kg bags of its high-quality cement
towards the rehabilitation of the Lwitikila Girls School
in Mpika. Plus they also make many donations to
several health and educational programs.