BUSINESS REPORTER
Leading cement maker, PPC Zimbabwe, is in discussions with power utility ZESA seeking exemption from power cuts, it has been learnt.
PPC Zimbabwe head of operations, Mavellas Sibanda told Business Times this week that discussions were going on very well with ZESA’s electricity transmission unit, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), for a ring fencing deal to ensure constant power supplies.
“…For us to run our plants successfully, it is important to access uninterrupted power supply,” Sibanda said.
He added: “For this reason, we are in constant engagement with ZETDC regarding the scheduling of our plant runs and maintenance down time. We have as a result, had very minimal interruptions to our plant runs during the past months. Further, we are in discussions with ZETDC on a ring-fenced uninterrupted power solution, going forward.”
Established over a century ago, PPC Zimbabwe, operates cement plants in Matabeleland South, Harare and Matabeleland North provinces.
Sibanda said there was high demand for cement in Zimbabwe in past few years attributable largely to the growth of housing projects and national infrastructural developmental projects.
In the past financial year (year ended March 2022), the growth in demand translated to 28% increase in our volumes, he said.
“As PPC Zimbabwe, we have adequate capacity to meet current demand for our products. From a macro perspective, the aggregate cement production capacity sits at 3.05m tonnes versus demand of 1.6m tonnes. Therefore, despite the sharp increase in demand, the local companies can still meet current national demand, and we do not believe that there is any reason to supplement this capacity with imported cement,” Sibanda told Business Times.
Asked why the price of cement in Zimbabwe was the highest in the region, Sibanda said: “From a regional cement pricing perspective, Zimbabwe cement prices are slightly ahead of some of the regional markets attributable to a higher production cost base in Zimbabwe coupled with the recent strengthening of the United States dollar.
“Having said that, it is pertinent to note that local products are required to meet rigorous quality standards of the Standards Association of Zimbabwe whilst imported cement products do not necessarily face the same quality requirements.
“As PPC Zimbabwe, in terms of our internal group requirements, we go over and above the national quality standards so that we are able to guarantee the strength of our product to the market. As a result of our dedication to high quality standards, our cement has been the product of choice for many of the ongoing national development projects and other major construction projects.”
Sibanda said the cement maker was at “an advanced stage with respect to our US$45m solar projects at our plants at Colleen Bawn and Bulawayo”.
“The planned solar projects are expected to generate a total power of 30 megawatts (MW), out of which 17 MW will be utilised for internal consumption and the remaining 13 MW will be fed into the national grid.
“The solar facility at the Bulawayo plant will have the capacity of 10 MW, whilst 5 MW is designated for internal consumption. At Colleen Bawn, the project will generate 20 MW of which 12 MW will be used internally. These projects are expected to be completed in the first half of 2023. ‘
He added: “The completion of the solar projects is expected to significantly lower the company’s energy cost and also meaningfully reduce the company’s carbon footprint.”
PPC Zimbabwe has also completed the refurbishment of its Colleen Bawn plant at a total project cost of over US$7.5m
“The project was aimed at improving product quality and reliability of the kiln while at the same time improving dust abatement system,” Sibanda told Business Times.
