Lanwa Sanstha cement manufacturing to commence in Sri Lanka with US$ 80 million investment
The Lanwa Sanstha Cement Corporation is to open its state of the art cement manufacturing facility, which is slated to be the largest in the region, in June 2021 at the Mirijjawila Export Processing Zone in Sri Lanka’s southern coastal city of Hambantota.
The facility is to be spread across 63 acres.
It is a venture approved by Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) and the investment for Phase 1 of the project was US$ 70 million and the production capacity of the same is estimated to be 2.4 million Metric Tons per annum, local media reports stated.
In the second phase, a further investment of US$ 10 million will be infused to the project whereby the production capacity will expand by another 1.2 million MT, the Daily FT stated.
According to the report, one of the highlights of the facility will be the emphasis on latest technology where all mixing will be carried out with latest German-made Gebr Pfeiffer machinery while most of the other equipment used throughout the production process has been customised by the world-renowned pioneer in innovation, Siemens while the packaging is done using FLSmidth state-of-the-art technology for improved efficiency and minimal wastage.
Lanwa Sanstha Cement Chairman Nandana Lokuwithana has been quoted as saying, “This facility will serve to benefit the construction industry tremendously by delivering products of premium quality to the market. The plant is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka utilising cutting-edge European technology to yield optimum outcomes while being environmentally conscious through continuous monitoring.”
The manufacturing facility features a fully automated stacker reclaimer yard and two bridge type ship unloaders, a breakthrough in cargo handling shifting from labour-intensive to tech-oriented, aligning local industry with global trends, the report stated.
Lanwa Sanstha Cement will have a storage capacity the equivalent of three cargo ships and an impressive 2.4km covered conveyer belt for transportation of raw materials from port to plant with increased efficiency, no wastage and zero pollution which sets the precedent for other enterprises too in manufacturing to preserve nature by working smarter. All these features are new to Sri Lanka and only available at a handful of such facilities regionally, the report further stated.
Lanwa Sanstha Cement is expected to meet the requirements of all major construction projects locally including Port City and Expressways once commissioned, manufacturing the entire gamut of blended cement products including Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Portland Slag Cement (PSC) and Portland Limestone Cement (PLC), the news report added.
OSL take:
The investment in cement manufacturing that is to take off mid next year is indicative of the level of business confidence in Sri Lanka as well as the growth potential of the country’s economy. Sri Lanka’s economy has been resilient through the years and is already showing signs of a quick return to normalcy despite the challenges faced by the global Covid 19 pandemic. The recommencement of Sri Lanka’s development programme has also expended business/investment opportunities in the country. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have made it a business hub in the South Asian region.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/16122020/Z_1 |