HeidelbergCement new cement mill

674 HeidelbergCement has officially inaugurates a new cement mill at its plant in the seaport Chittagong, Bangladesh.

The ball mill has a grinding capacity of about 0.8million tonnes.

The investment costs amount to approximately €12.65 million, and test runs of the new mill were conducted successfully at the end of 2011.

“We are very pleased that we are able to officially inaugurate our state-of-the-art cement mill today," says Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board.

“Bangladesh is an interesting market for HeidelbergCement. 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 4362 International Monetary Fund (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 has been active in Bangladesh since 1998 and is 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 4 million inhabitants.