With South Africa’s cementitious industry down 5% in 2014 compared to 2013, Ash Resources, the country’s largest producer of fly ash, is targeting more growth opportunities beyond national borders.
Tshepiso Dumasi, managing director of Ash Resources, says the company is actively involved in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia, where it sees more growth opportunities, and wants to expand the existing footprint. “Unfortunately, ash is a material that doesn’t travel very well and logistical costs become too high in the process. However, we continue looking at opportunities outside South Africa,” says Dumasi.
In Zambia, prospects remain strong, buoyed by a healthy pipeline of new construction projects. Its year on year construction sector growth for 2015 is predicted to be 13,98%.
In Namibia, Ash Resources is targeting to supply Neckartal Dam. “It’s a project that draws a lot of interest and we will continue to look for an opportunity to be involved,” says Dumasi. Construction at the US$260 million Neckartal Dam project started last year and will be completed in 2017.
Elsewhere, in Lesotho, the company is involved at the Metelong Dam project. Ash Resources started supplying the project with ash in 2013. “We have helped the contractor to produce correct concrete mixes for the project. We want to continue to look for opportunities where our materials are of value and where pricing is not an issue, and Lesotho is one of those markets.” Besides mentioned markets, Dumasi says sub-Sahara Africa at large offers strong growth prospects, with the region’s average annual growth in the region of 7%.
Dumasi says that lessons learnt on some flagship projects, such as the Gautrain, an 80km mass rapid transit railway system in Gauteng Province, and the US$258 million De Hoop Dam in Limpopo Province, South Africa, are giving Ash Resources the edge to be recognised internationally. The company is supplying fly ash at the St Helena Island airport project. “Our competitive edge to tackle a project of St Helena’s stature is our logistics knowhow, because for a very long time we used to supply ash into the United Arab Emirates,” says Dumasi.
