South African cement maker PPC has revealed plans to build a cement factory in Zimbabwe in an attempt to boost the proportion of sales from outside its home market to at least 40 per cent by 2016
The company revealed the information last week without giving out the details of how much the project would be worth.
A senior executive of PPC was quoted in African business daily Business Day last year as saying that the company would spend US$200mn on a cement factory in Zimbabwe.
The new factory in Zimbabwe, where PPC already runs two plants, will serve markets in the capital Harare and central Mozambique.
PPC has also been looking at building another plant in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland province.
PPC said South African building firms were looking north for growth after being stuck with a lacklustre economy and a glut of buildings following a construction boom that ended with the 2010 soccer World Cup.
PPC, which paid US$69mn for control of Rwanda’s only cement maker in December 2012, has said it could spend up to US$300mn expanding further into the poor but fast-growing continent.
