Tokyo Cement ramps up supply to meet cement shortage
View(s):Tokyo Cement is stepping up cement production to meet a current shortage, operating its cement manufacturing plant in Trincomalee at the maximum installed capacity of around 170,000 MT per month but attributes several reasons including the long delay in opening LCs as part of the problem.
In a statement, Dr. Harsha Cabral PC, Chairman of Tokyo Cement said the company will continue to supply cement island-wide at the highest output levels. In addition to local production at maximum capacity, the company has been importing 30,000 MT of bulk cement per month through the Tokyo Cement Colombo Terminal. Dr. Cabral further states that on a request made by the Government, Tokyo Cement has made special arrangements to import an additional 12,000 MT of cement per month as an immediate contingency measure to alleviate the cement shortage currently prevailing in the market.
He said the shortage of cement in the market was due to multiple reasons that are beyond the control of the company. “First is due to the unavailability of bulk cargo carriers to ship raw materials as well as cement as a finished good. Secondly, considerable delays are encountered in opening LCs with the banks, wherein a process that would typically happen in the same day would now take weeks. These factors contribute in varying degrees to the current cement shortage in the market,” he added.
Cement industry officials said the shortage of foreign exchange has exacerbated the problem.
The company is currently expanding its manufacturing plant in Trincomalee to increase local production capacity by a further 1 million MT by deploying state-of-the-art technology.