Tororo Cement Industry, a local manufacturer of cement, lime, iron sheets and other materials will complete the expansion of its production facility worth Ushs100 b ($50 million) by June 2011. According to Alok Kala, Chief Marketing Manager, this may bring down the price of cement and other building materials, hence boosting the construction industry as a result of increased production. Cement, a major construction material, witnessed volatile price trends forcing a retail price of 26,500 ($12) a bag towards the end of 2010. Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) attributed the increase in prices to the import of cement. Earlier last year, local cement manufacturers were demanding a level playing field with imported cement from Asia and the Middle East where production is subsidised. Currently, there’s a significant drop in imports of cement which has been attributed to the increased local production and competition. Industry experts say the decline in prices is mainly due to increased local capacity as a result of increased investments that include the new Hima Cement factory in Kasese. The new plant has increased Hima’s production capacity from 350,000 tonne a year to 850,000 tonne a year. Kala said the expanded Tororo Cement plant will more than double the capacity of the factory from the current output of one million tonne per annum to 2.2 million tonne per annum. In doing so, the factory is set to create more employment opportunities for the locals. He also added that they plan to venture out into other markets like Tanzania in the near future so as to take advantage of the East African Common Market.
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