Govt. readies to import cement

By Shabnam Farook
Inadequate supply of cement by local suppliers has set the government in motion to call for tenders for importation of cement that will be finalised tomorrow.
The government will finalize a tender to import cement to the country by Friday Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry secretary Dr.R.M.S Ratnayake said.
Dr.Ratnayake says that they have decided to call for tenders from 9 International companies from countries like China, Pakistan, Indonesia and India as local companies are facing difficulties to match the demand for cement in the country.
Earlier, Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) Ltd was reported as saying that due to the high demand for supplies of cement manufacturing materials from India, Sri Lanka was facing a shortage that had heavily burdened the industry.
The company said that the high demand from countries like China and India had inevitably led to some of their key suppliers of cement to Sri Lanka from India opting to sell to other countries with a high demand and a higher price rather than Sri Lanka.Meanwhile, the Kankasanthurai cement manufacturing plant will be subjected to a site assessment by the Construction and Engineering Services Ministry in preparation of the hand over to “Aditya Birla Group” one of India’s leading cement manufacturers.
According sources the groundwork has already been carried out while a proposed join venture is in the cards between the Sri Lankan government and the Birla Group.
At the moment there is a worldwide shortage of cement owing to a construction boom, especially in emerging economies like China and India, and cement prices have subsequently gone up.
Sri Lanka too has been experiencing a construction boom for the past five years.
Sri Lanka's cement production and bagging plants can only meet 40 percent of the island's annual requirements with the rest being imported, mainly from Indonesia.
The cement shortage that is affecting the local construction industry has resulted in problems of cement shortages and high prices.