Cement company Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) plans to invest R4bn to upgrade its facilities in the Western Cape.

PPC’s proposed new plant will replace the 49 year old Riebeeck West plant, and is expected to more than double the production from 550,000 tons to 1.3 million tons annually.

This is good news for the Western Cape which industry analysts predicted could face a cement shortage in the next five years if production was not increased. Strong growth in South Africa’s cement demand which has grown by nearly 60% in the last five years, coupled by the government’s focus on infrastructure development led to fears of a shortage in the next five years.