BTA Admin Dzata Cement Limited is preparing for a major expansion of its production, storage, packing and logistics infrastructure as the wholly Ghanaian-owned cement manufacturer marks its fifth anniversary, with plans to raise its operational capacity and position the company for annual production of about three million tonnes.
The expansion programme includes the installation of a 300-tonne-per-hour Multi Big Bag Receiver (MBBR), construction of four additional 10,000-tonne cement silos to raise storage capacity to 40,000 tonnes, and development of a largely automated packing facility capable of handling about 6,000 tonnes of cement a day.
The company also plans to introduce additional cement grades, explore the introduction of 25-kilogramme bags alongside its existing 50-kilogramme bags, strengthen laboratory facilities and improve its health, safety and environmental systems.
Announcing the plans at the launch of Dzata Cement’s fifth anniversary celebration, the Plant Director, Abderrahim Ouahab, said the new capital expenditure programme had been approved by the Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Mahama and would support the company’s next phase of growth.
The MBBR, he said, would significantly improve the receipt and processing of jumbo bags while enhancing cement transfer, screening, dust collection and recycling.
Its integration with the company’s existing silos would improve operational flexibility, increase output and support smoother bulk-loading operations.
The investment is also expected to reduce truck waiting times and dependence on forklifts and manual handling, while limiting interaction between workers and mobile equipment.
The system would consequently improve workplace safety, dust control, housekeeping and waste management.
The planned four additional silos, each with a 10,000-tonne capacity, would give Dzata Cement total storage capacity of 40,000 tonnes and provide greater flexibility in managing production and distribution.
The company is simultaneously developing its packing operations towards a fully automated system with an estimated capacity of 6,000 tonnes a day.
Automation and robotics would improve productivity, consistency and safety while reducing dependence on manual processes.
Mr Ouahab said the expansion would be matched by product diversification and stronger quality-control systems.
The company intends to broaden its cement portfolio with additional grades and is preparing for possible changes in packaging to respond to customer needs.
Its laboratory is also being strengthened to improve physical and chemical analysis of cement and ensure product quality as production volumes increase.
Safety and environmental management remain central to the expansion.
Dzata Cement plans to increase health, safety and environment training and make progress towards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards covering quality, environmental management and occupational health and safety.
The company will also strengthen spare-parts availability and stock management through its Enterprise Resource Planning system, while artificial intelligence and other digital technologies will be deployed in selected repetitive operations to improve efficiency.
Mr Ouahab said the immediate investments would provide the foundation for the company’s longer-term ambition of producing approximately three million tonnes of cement annually, requiring further expansion of storage, packing, bulk-loading and truck-loading infrastructure.
The anniversary comes as Dzata Cement approaches another major milestone — production of its 30 millionth bag of cement after only five years of commercial operations.
Describing the anniversary as a celebration of “challenges, learning, progress and achievement,” Mr Ouahab credited employees for the company’s development and urged them to maintain a culture of safety, quality, teamwork, discipline, responsibility and respect.
“Today, we can be proud of how far we have come. But I strongly believe that the best years of Dzata Cement are still ahead of us,” he said.
The Director of Finance, Godfred Barnes, said the company’s progress had been built on hard work, sacrifice, resilience and confidence in a Ghanaian industrial vision.
Recalling the arrival of Dzata Cement’s first raw materials at about midnight at the beginning of commercial operations, Mr Barnes said the moment represented more than the delivery of materials.
“We were not simply watching raw materials arrive. We were watching a vision take shape,” he said.
He said his role as Finance Director had given him a close view of the resources required to operate a cement manufacturing business, including foreign exchange for raw materials, machinery and spare parts, freight, port charges, energy, taxes and working capital.
Those pressures, he said, had demonstrated that finance was not merely about counting money but about protecting the company’s vision and ensuring that resources entrusted to it were used responsibly.
He said every stakeholder had a financial role, from production teams reducing waste and engineers preventing downtime to procurement officers negotiating better terms, logistics teams improving turnaround times and commercial teams winning customers and collecting payments.
“Although I carry the title of Finance Director, all of us have a responsibility for the financial future of Dzata Cement,” he said.
Mr Barnes said the company had faced supply-chain disruptions, high freight costs, inflation, exchange-rate volatility and operational difficulties during its first five years.
Depreciation of the cedi, he said, increased the cost of imported raw materials and spare parts and sometimes forced the company to redirect resources from investment to immediate operational needs.
“Resilience is not the absence of difficulty. It is the determination to keep building despite the difficulty,” he said.
He expressed appreciation to GCB Bank, which he said had provided critical support during difficult periods, as well as auditors Baker Tilly & Andah, suppliers, distributors, customers, transporters and other business partners.
He also paid tribute to Founder and Sole Shareholder Ibrahim Mahama, saying his message to management had consistently been to take care of the people, protect the plant, reinvest in the business and build for the future.
Mr Barnes also commended Managing Director Nafisa Mahama for providing stability and leadership.
He said the company’s original ambition, announced when it began its journey in 2021, remained to become Ghana’s number-one cement manufacturing company by 2030.
The first five years, he said, had laid the foundation, while the next five would be about building the legacy.
Dzata Cement’s existing plant sits on 10 acres of land near the Tema Port and represents an investment of more than US$100 million.
Using technology supplied by German equipment developer Haver & Boecker, the plant produces Ordinary Portland Cement, with production lines capable of bagging an average of 120 bags per minute and stated capacity of about 80,000 bags a day, or approximately two million tonnes annually.
With the company approaching its 30 millionth bag and preparing to expand storage, receiving, packing and dispatch infrastructure, the fifth anniversary marks a transition from establishing the business to building greater scale.
The company says its next phase will combine higher production with safety, quality, technology, financial discipline and responsible stewardship as it works towards its three-million-tonne annual production ambition.
