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Johannesburg- South African cement firm PPC plans to enter the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a $200m factory, its chief executive said on Thursday, part of its drive to boost sales outside is home market.
The 1 million tonne factory in the DRC comes alongside similar projects in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Rwanda. The company has said it aims to make at least 40% of its sales outside South Africa by 2016.
"By the last quarter of 2015 we should begin cement production almost simultaneously in Ethiopia, Rwanda and the DRC. Zimbabwe will probably be six to nine months later," Chief Executive Ketso Gordhan told Reuters.
South Africa's top cement maker is also looking at opportunities in Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi, although it does not have any firm expansion plans yet, he said.
PPC on Thursday reported an 18% in first-half profit, hit by charges related to a black empowerment deal in Zimbabwe.
Excluding those charges, it said, earnings would have been slightly higher.
