/ 27 April 1999

LAFARGE BUYS UGANDAN CEMENT

CEMENT giant Lafarge (SA) and Blue Circle Industries said on Friday they have acquired Ugandan cement maker Hima Cement through their joint ventures Bamburi Cement and Cemholding. Hima Cement has a factory 300km southwest of Kampala with “a potential annual capacity of 250000 tons a year,” Lafarge said in a statement. It said the Ugandan cement market, which reached 500000 tons in 1998, is expected to grow at an annual rate of 5% to 10% in the coming years. Bamburi Cement supplies 60% of the cement used in Kenya through its factories in Mombasa and Nairobi, Lafarge said.