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-Construction to cost USD 1.6bln
By Tamiru Tsige
Addis Ababa, October 17, 2009 – North Holdings Investment Inc.,
Ethiopia, a subsidiary of the US-based North Holdings Investment and
whose major shareholder is the prominent Ethiopian businessman Temesgen
Mehari, announced Monday that it had completed a feasibility study for a
cement factory it would build over a 450 ha of land at Dejen, 216km
north of Addis Ababa, in the Amhara Regional State.
The construction of the factory will cost around USD 1.6 billion,
according to Dejenu Teklemariam, project director of the factory. He
told regional officials that the company has a registered capital of
over 12 billion birr.
The factory will have a production capacity of nine million tons a year.
Currently, Mugher, Messebo,
National Cement, Derba MIDROC, Jema and Abyssinia cement factories put
together are producing 2.3 million tonnes of cement annually.
The area around the factory is rich in limestone, sandstone, gypsum and
clay soil, inputs necessary for production of cement, which will last 60
years, according to the company’s study.
The factory will use coal from Chilga in Gondar Zone for 60 percent of
its power needs and the remaining 40 percent from petroleum and electric
power.
Dejenu said that the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) would
supply the factory 150 MW electric power when it begins production.
The factory will export 60 percent of its output while it will offer the
balance for the local market.
The company’s construction project includes the building of a 925
km-railway which will connect eight towns in the northern part of the
country.
The construction of the factory is expected to lower the price of cement
to 110 birr per quintal from its current price of over 350 birr.
The construction of the factory is scheduled to commence in February
2010.
The construction project will create job opportunities for over 10,000
people, Dejenu added.
Source: The Reporter, October 10, 2009
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