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Tokyo Cement to increase imports on Govt.’s request 

27 Oct 2021

  • Additional 12,000 MT cement to address shortage 
Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC is to import an additional 12,000 metric tonnes (MT) of cement per month in order to address the cement shortage in the market on the request made by the Government.  Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC Chairman Dr. Harsha Cabral PC stated 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 islandwide 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.  Dr. Cabral further stated that these measures are expected to mitigate the cement shortage currently prevailing in the market.  Dr. Cabral 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, it was noted that there is a shortage in cement in the market due to multiple reasons that are beyond the control of the company. The first reason is the unavailability of bulk cargo carriers to ship raw materials as well as cement as a finished good.  Secondly, considerable delays are encountered in opening letters of credit (LCs) with the banks, wherein a process that would typically happen on the same day would now take weeks. These factors contribute in varying degrees to the current cement shortage in the market.  The company expects to expand its manufacturing plant in Trincomalee to increase local production capacity by a further one million MT by deploying state-of-the-art technology. Accordingly, it is believed that 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.


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