Sino-Zim Cement pins hopes on public projects

Published: 10 May 2018

GWERU-based cement manufacturer, Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company (SZCC), hopes for improved turnover once infrastructural development deals signed between Zimbabwe and China take off.

SZCC is a joint venture between the Zimbabwe and Chinese governments and has a design capacity to produce 400 000 tonnes of cement per year. The cement industry has recently witnessed a decline in sales mainly due to the liquidity crunch inherent in the economy, which has slowed down the growth of the construction industry.

SZCC managing director, Mr Yong Wang, said the company was operating at 70 percent capacity utilisation, which was likely to increase if Government projects take off.

"The market environment is very tough this year, which has mainly been due to the liquidity challenges in the economy. Compared to last year about the same time we have had a marginal increase in sales but this has been eroded by the cost of raw materials and other variables in the economy," said Mr Yong.

"We are hopeful that Government projects such as the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, the expansion of the Hwange Thermal Power Station, upgrading of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and construction of the Parliament of Zimbabwe will take off this year and this will boost our sales and capacity utilisation.

"We already have been asked to bring samples of our products for quality control by the contractors and we hope things will start moving soon," he added.

The Gweru based cement maker, Mr Yong said, has started piling raw materials at its site to cushion itself against the ever increasing prices.

The stockpiling comes after the company completed the construction of some of its sheds for raw materials for storage. SZCC commands a 25 percent market share in the cement industry.

Other players in the cement industry are Lafarge Zimbabwe, Pretoria Portland Cement and most recently Diamond Cement.
- the herald

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