Chinese-built cement factory in Ethiopia sees 70 percent completion

ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Construction of the Lemi National Cement Factory in Ethiopia is 70 percent completed and it will be inaugurated early next year, set to boost the East African country's annual cement production capacity by 8 million metric tons.

Owned by a joint venture of West International Holding, the African arm of West China Cement and East African Holding Company, the Lemi National Cement Factory is being built at a cost of 600 million U.S. dollars at Lemi Building Materials Industrial Park, some 150 km north of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

East African Holding Company Chairman Buzuayehu Tadele on Sunday announced the completion of installing huge preheater frames and rotary kilns, structures in which big rocks are decomposed under high temperatures to produce cement, describing it as a major milestone and saying the completion marks 70 percent completion of Ethiopia's biggest cement manufacturing plant.

Lin Zhong, president of Sinoma International Engineering Company, which is the constructor of the cement factory, said Lemi National Cement Factory is set to be completed in March 2024 after its civil works are fully completed.