Cimerwa Cement Limited (CCL) is a manufacturer of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

in Rwanda with capacity of approximately 600,000 tones per year.

History

The company was established in 1982, with capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes annually. It was managed by a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

company, CBMC, under a "build-own-operate-transfer" model. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, plant operations were suspended and 53 employees died. In 2001, plant capacity was increased to 100,000 metric tonnes annually. In 2006, Cimerwa was privatized under the ''Rwanda Investment Group''. Ownership transferred to several Rwanda-based institutions. PPC Limited acquired a 51 percent ownership in Cimerwa, for US$69.4 million in 2013. In 2015, the company assumed a new corporate identity to reflect the new ownership. Before November 2023, Cimerwa Cement Limited operated as a 51 percent subsidiary of Pretoria Portland Cement Company (PPC Limited), a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n cement-manufacturing conglomerate, whose shares of

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

are traded on the

Johannesburg Stock Exchange JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...

. The table below illustrates the shareholding in the company, as of June 2019. As of June 2019, the entire 49 percent shareholding owed by Rwandan shareholders was up for sale. In November 2023, the shareholders in the business signed share purchase agreements selling 99.9 percent shares of

in the company to National Cement Holdings Limited (National Cement), based in Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda and now Rwanda. The deal that requires regulatory approval in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

and

COMESA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...

, is expected to close in Q1 2024. On 25 January 2024, after paying US$85 million, National Cement of Kenya acquired 99.94 percent of the Cimerwa shares. The new owners plan to invest another US$60 million into the company's operations to increase efficiencies, scale up output and reduce the price of cement to the consumer. Following the conclusion of the sale, the shares of

of the company will be de-listed from the Rwanda Securities Exchange.

Pretoria Portland Cement Company

Pretoria Portland Cement Company controls eleven cement factories and a lime manufacturing facility in six

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n countries including South Africa,

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and Rwanda.

Location

Its main factory is located in Muganza Sector, about north of the town of

Bugarama Bugarama is a town in western Rwanda. Location Bugarama is located in Rusizi District, Western Province, close to the borders with Burundi (to the east) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (to the west). It is about , by road, southwest of ...

, in

Rusizi District Rusizi is a district (''akarere'') in Western Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Kamembe, the major city of the Rwandan south-west and the district contains large parts of the former Cyangugu Province. Geography, flora and fauna The district li ...

, in the

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

. The city of

Cyangugu Cyangugu (formerly Shangugu) is a city and capital of the Rusizi District in Western Province, Rwanda. The city lies at the southern end of Lake Kivu, and is contiguous with Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, but separated from it by the ...

, the largest urban center in Rusizi District, is located approximately , by road, northwest of the factory and is the location of the district headquarters. The factory uses imported coal from Malawi and Tanzania, to fuel its kilns. The installed factory capacity is 600,000 metric tonnes annually. After operating at less than 60% of capacity (approximately 350,000 metric tonnes annually) until 2018, the factory received a 3.3 billion dollar upgrade that increased its capacity to 74% of installed capacity (approximately 441,223 metric tonnes annually) Prior to the 2018 upgrade, Cimerwa could produce 27,000 metric tonnes monthly, or approximately 54 percent of the 50,000 metric tonnes needed monthly to satisfy Rwanda's cement needs. With production of an expected 441,223 metric tonnes after the upgrade, it is expected cement importation into Rwanda will reduce. The coordinates of its main factory are: 02°36'25.0"S, 29°01'03.0"E (Latitude:-2.606944; Longitude:29.017500). The firm also maintains offices in the city of

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

, the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and largest city of Rwanda.

Products

As of May 2020, CIMERWA produced four types of

portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...

; namely 1. ''SUREBUILD'', a 42.5N premium cement meant for heavy construction projects 2. ''SURECEM'', a 32.5N all-purpose cement ideal for concrete, mortar, plaster and brick joinery 3. ''SUREROAD'', another 32.5N product, is a custom-made cement meant for road construction and 4. ''SUREWALL'', is a 22.5X masonry cement specifically designed for plastering and brick joinery.

References

External links