Lucky Cement kick-starts new line, reaches 15.3 MTPA capacity

LAHORE: Lucky Cement has become the largest cement manufacturer of Pakistan with 15.3 million tonnes per annum capacity after the completion of its brownfield expansion in Pezu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

With the addition of 3.15 million tonnes per annum, Lucky Cement’s capacity has grown to 15.3 million tonnes from 12.15 million tonnes previously, the company disclosed in its material information shared with the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday.

“Construction and installation work with respect to the brownfield expansion of the additional line of 3.15 million tons per annum (MTPA) at our manufacturing site at Pezu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been successfully completed within the planned project timelines. The new line is now operational and production of clinker has commenced from December 22, 2022,” it noted.

For more than six months, the cement sector has been posting poor sales, both domestically and internationally. Local sales have declined on account of economic slowdown, while global demand for cement has also fallen despite efforts to explore new international markets.

The cement industry started expansion plans in the country soon after the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects were initiated in Pakistan. The industry anticipated huge cement demand, and made fresh investments to expand existing plants along with getting licenses for new plants in the Punjab.

The announcement further stated that post the successful completion of the aforesaid brownfield expansion, LCL holds its rank and prominence as the largest manufacturer and exporter of cement and clinker in Pakistan.

“LCL's overall cement manufacturing capacity, including facilities located in Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo, now stand at 19.7 MTPA (million tonnes per annum). Besides the cement segment, LCL’s industrial footprint includes power generation, automobiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and mobile phone assembling through its subsidiaries,” the announcement added. An official said that the expansion of the plant was part of the company’s long-term planning. The new substantial investment had made Lucky the largest cement manufacturer of Pakistan.

This expansion was made in accordance with the future exports and domestic cement demand, the official said.

“The cement sector is expecting a rebound in the demand once the rehabilitation process of the flood affected areas starts,” the official added.

The sector has been under pressure since the inflation and interest rates started increasing. However, both domestic and international cement intake would increase with the reduction of domestic and global inflation, he observed.