Tokyo Cement ramps up supply to address shortage

Tokyo Cement Chairman Dr. Harsha Cabral PC

Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC said yesterday it had taken several immediate measures to address the cement shortage in the market.  

Chairman Dr. Harsha Cabral PC said that Tokyo Cement is operating its cement manufacturing plant in Trincomalee at the maximum installed capacity of around 170,000 MT per month and will continue to supply cement island-wide at the highest output levels.  

In addition to local production at maximum capacity, the company has been importing 30,000 MT of bulk cement per month through the Tokyo Cement Colombo Terminal.  

Cabral further stated that on a request made by the Government, Tokyo Cement has made special arrangements to import additional 12,000 MT of cement per month as an immediate contingency measure to alleviate the cement shortage currently prevailing in the market.

In a statement, Cabral also reiterated that Tokyo Cement Company, as the country’s largest cement manufacturer, will continue to fulfil its national duty at all times by ensuring an uninterrupted supply to meet the requirements of customers across the island.  

“However, there is a shortage in cement availability in the market due to multiple reasons that are beyond the control of the company,” he added.  

First, he stated, is due to the unavailability of bulk cargo carriers to ship raw materials as well as cement as a finished good. Secondly, considerable delays were encountered in opening LCs with the banks, wherein a process that would typically happen in the same day would now take weeks. These factors contribute in varying degrees to the current cement shortage in the market.

The company is currently expanding its manufacturing plant in Trincomalee to increase local production capacity by a further one million MT by deploying state-of-the-art technology.  

“This expansion will firmly establish Tokyo Cement’s readiness to cater to future growth in demand in the local construction industry and reaffirm the company’s position as the leading manufacturer and supplier of cement in Sri Lanka,” Cabral said.