National Cement S.C. has signed a plant management deal with the Egyptian firm Asec Engineering and Management, a subsidiary of Qalaa Holdings.
The one-year contract, which is renewable for a five-year term, will allow National Cement to receive full technical assistance for the operation and maintenance of a cement plant from the leading cement plant Operations & Management (O&M) service provider in Egypt and the Mena region.
The plant in question is located in the city of Dire Dawa 515 km east of Addis Ababa, and boasts a production capacity of one million tons of clinker per annum. The Egyptian firm is believed to employ its knowhow and expertise to help the plant reach its potential by boosting production volumes, cutting production costs, and improving product quality.
Asec Engineering will also introduce and implement systems for all aspects of production, quality, maintenance, warehousing and human resources, among other areas, he stated.
On the contract win, Asec Engineering CEO Khaled El Sebaie, said: “This is a result of the continued efforts of Asec Engineering and its ambitious plans to expand its business into Sub-Saharan Africa,” reports Trade Arab News Service.
One of the leading cement producers in the country, National Cement was the first such factory when it was opened in 1936. In 2005 it was reorganized as a share company through a joint venture of East Africa Mining Corporation (EAMC) and the Ethiopian Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency. In the following years after that government shares were bought out by EAMC.
Currently the plant produces 400 tons of cement per day.
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