Cimerwa Ltd, the largest local cement manufacturer, has launched its new plant with an improved production capacity to lock out regional imports.

Cimerwa increased its production capacity after South Africa’s Pretoria Portland Cement Company Ltd acquired 51 per cent.

The launch of the new plant in Western Province comes at a time when there is a high demand of cement inspired by the booming construction in the country.

Rwandan cement market is being served by local manufacturers, who are facing stiff competition from regional players such as Hima cement from Uganda and Kilimanjaro from Tanzania.

However, the company will still face competition from its regional counterparts who have relatively bigger production capacities from their headquarters and have been in the business for long.

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Given their huge production capacities, regional companies exporting their products to Rwanda offer cement on the Rwandan market at a lower price, making the Rwandan companies non-competitive.

With the increased cement imports, however, the construction sector in the country is facing cement deficit resulting in the expansion of Cimerwa’s production facilities.

The management of Cimerwa said after the upgrade, Rwandan construction sector will not need any cement imports.

Reports show that with the positive economic outlook for the Great Lakes region, cement demand is projected to increase to one million tonnes during the next decade.

With increased capacity, the supply is expected to meet the demand on the market, which will ease the prices pressure on construction companies and individuals building commercial and residential houses.

Industry players noted that increased production capacity will benefit consumers.

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“With increased production and supply, the costs of cement will reduce, which is good for the construction sector and the economy,” said Jimmy Mugabo, the country representative for Hima cement in Rwanda and Burundi. Cimerwa is likely to consider exporting its products to Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Mugabo added that importers of cement will be saved from the dollar effect where they buy imported cement in dollars instead of francs and end up losing some revenues through fluctuating exchange rates

The average grade of cement on the local market is at 32.5 while new importers like Kilimanjaro Cement from Tanzania is providing cement of42.5 grades, which is considered of higher quality and preferred by major projects.

Kilimanjaro has seen its imports to Rwanda increase from 1,200 tonnes eight months ago when they launched to 4,000 tonnes currently.

Cimerwa however, said the increased capacity will help it to compete in terms of prices as well as on the export market

“The new capacity will fully satisfy the local market and it will also put us in a position where we are going to penetrate the regional market,” said Samuel Kasule, head of commercial services at Cimerwa in an earlier interview.