Colombo, 26th September 2017: Entering an important new phase in the Company’s history, INSEE Cement laid the foundation stone and commenced building a USD 14 million vertical cement grinding plant in Galle recently. The foundation stone was placed by Nishantha Muthuhettige, Deputy Minister of Port and Shipping, Sujeewa Wimalasiri – Residence Manager of Galle together with the officials from INSEE Cement.
Nandana Ekanayake, CEO of INSEE Cement said “The new plant will be the first vertical cement grinding plant in the Southern Province and also for the company. It is the Company’s first big investment since the acquisition in Sri Lanka by Siam City Cement Public Company. This is another milestone in our ambitious mission to build and contribute to the nation’s future prosperity.”
The plant will be completed by 2018 and will have an annual capacity of 450,000 tonnes of cement. The Company will further invest USD 3 million in initiatives to safeguard the surrounding environment with assistance from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
BOI, Sri Lanka Customs, Sri Lanka Police, Sri Lanka Navy, Environment Authority and the local authorities will also play an important role providing close collaboration and guidance to this important endeavour that will result in increased production volumes, contributing to the national economy.
A 20 member cross-functional team at INSEE Cement, combining business operations such as manufacturing, quality, marketing, logistics and procurement, sustainable development, HR, Finance and external affairs joined together to kick-start the project, scheduled to commence operations on 1st June next year. Technical Consultants for the project are CemCon AG, a Swiss company which will provide support in machine selection, on-site factory acceptance testing as well as pre-installation and post commissioning testing.
The new plant will open up employment opportunities for over 100 persons during the construction phase while over 50 persons in the vicinity will gain full time or contract employment once the plant is completed.