HeidelbergCement open new cement mill in Bangladesh

Company expands its grinding capacity in anticipation of demand growth over the coming years

HEIDELBERGCement have officially inaugurated a new cement mill at their plant in Bangladesh’s seaport city of Chittagong. The ball mill has a grinding capacity of about 0.8 million tonnes per annum and represents an investment of around US$16 million.

Test runs of the new mill were conducted successfully at the end of 2011 and full production commenced in the first week of January 2012.

‘Bangladesh is an interesting market for HeidelbergCement,’ said Dr Bernd Scheifele (pictured), chairman of the managing board. ‘We expect the need for high-quality cement to increase significantly in the coming years, especially due to new government infrastructure projects.

‘With the new mill we are very well prepared for this demand growth. The investment in Bangladesh is part of our long-term strategy to expand our cement capacities in attractive emerging markets by brownfield or greenfield projects.’

The IMF forecasts a GDP growth of 6.1% for Bangladesh in 2012. Bangladesh has one of the lowest per capita cement consumption ratios in the world, but it is also one of the fastest-growing markets worldwide.

HeidelbergCement have been active in Bangladesh since 1998 and are one of the largest German investors in the country. The Group operates cement grinding plants in the two most important markets of the country, one in the capital city of Dhaka and the other in the second largest city, Chittagong, with its 4 million inhabitants.