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| Sunday, 20 January 2002 |
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Rs. 500m cement bagging plant opened Tokyo Cement Group through its subsidiary Samudra Cement Company Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd., opened one of the most modern and efficient cement bagging plants at the Colombo port recently. Set up with an investment of over Rs. 500 million, the plant has an intial capacity to bag 600,000 metric tonnes of cement per annum. Minister of Ports Development and Shipping and Eastern Development Rauff Hakeem opened the plant while Minister for Education, Human Resources Development and Cultural Affairs Karunasena Kodituwakku opened the bulk loading facility. Samudra Cement was conceived in 1994 as the Tokyo Cement Group realised that the fastest growing cement markets in Sri Lanka were the Western and Southern provinces given the continued robust construction projects, both commercial and individual, and it decided to have strong representation in these provinces. "Tokyo Cement Group is committed to act as a catalyst to boost development and serve our customers and the nation better. The investment in the Samudra Cement plant is further manifestation of our commitment and it will serve the Western Province efficiently and effectively," Tokyo Cement Group Chairman A. Y. A. Gnanam said. Joint Managing Director S. R. Gnanam said that Samudra Cement's plant supplied from Germany is equipped with up-to-date features, benefits of which would be felt by the economy, customers and other stakeholders. The plant was designed by Stup Consultants of India while the plant and machinery were supplied by BMH of Germany. Civil contractors were GTM Wansoon Construction Ltd., of Singapore. The Samudra Cement plant has a silo capacity of 20,000 metric tonnes and is 62.1 metres tall. The operations are environmentally friendly as the cement terminal is equipped with dust collectors, ensuring minimum dust emissions to the environment. The company is keen to obtain the ISO 14001 international environment management standards for this project as well. "Samudra has stringent quality standards and were in the process of obtaining the SLS standards for Samudra as well," Mr. Gnanam said. Samudra plant has installed more weighing bridges and a loading capacity of 2200 bags per hour. There is also provision to expand the facility to have two more loading bays. A special feature of this silo design is the 'drive-thru' feature, underneath the silo. This will facilitate easy manoeuvring by the truck driver and avoid congestion in the port premises. Samudra Cement will be available in bulk, bagged and in ready-mixed concrete. The Group's ready-mixed concrete plant is under construction at Peliyagoda and will be inaugurated later this month. As per the agreement with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Samudra Cement has agreed to construct a brand new warehouse in lieu of the warehouse released. Construction of the new warehouse saw a further investment of Rs. 90 million by the company. Tokyo Cement became the first cement manufacturer to obtain the Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) certification and the ISO 9002 quality management system certificate. The company received the ISO 14000 - environment management system certificate, a first for a Sri Lankan company in any field. The Group also has several brands of cement such as Mitsui and Atlas. As part of product diversification, Tokyo Cement also became the first local cement manufacturer to venture into the ready-mix concrete business. An expansion programme worth Rs. 500 million and enjoying Board of Investment status has also begun at the main plant in Trincomalee. It is envisaged that this expansion programme would facilitate additional foreign investment to the country. Mr. Gnanam said the construction industry has been one of the few sectors that had managed to survive despite the economic downturn. However, greater growth is possible and is of paramount importance if the new Government is keen to usher in better socio-economic prosperity to the nation sooner than later. "In this process the cement industry can be a catalyst in the nation's forward march with more investments and innovation, provided the right policy and market environment is created," Tokyo Cement Chairman stressed. |
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