A leading regional cement company has begun work on a new raw mill that will expand capacity at the recently overhauled Zahana plant in Algeria and expects full production from the Arab National Cement Company in Minya to begin by the first quarter of 2013, creating 400 direct jobs
“Zahana Cement Company, our key Algerian subsidiary, has just concluded the largest overhaul in the plant’s long history,” noted ASEC Cement CEO Giorgio Bodo. “This substantial intervention will lead to a 20% year-on-year increase in the production of both clinker and cement. Moreover, the deployment of new bag filters as part of the upgrade has dramatically lessened the plant’s environmental footprint.”
Following the overhaul, Zahana’s production capacity is rated at c.900,000 tons of clinker per annum. ASEC Cement has management control and a 35% equity stake at Zahana in partnership with the Government of Algeria.
ASEC Cement has also begun work on a US$ 30 million project to construct a new raw mill at Zahana that will be fully operational by 2014, raising Zahana’s production capacity to c.1.2 MPTA of clinker. Moreover, procedures have already started to launch a new line of 1.5 MTPA. This further expansion should be completed by 2015, allowing the plant to reach 2.7 MPTA of clinker and 3.0 MPTA of cement.
Zahana, located in western Algeria 40 kilometres from Wahran, had a production of 650,000 tons of cement in 2008 when ASEC Cement took over management of the company. The changes in the plant in the last few years have been very important not only in terms of production and profitability; they have also reduced the plant’s environmental impact and substantially improved the employee working conditions.
