Cement Plant takes measures to protect the ecosystem

Miss Namibia

By Musa Makondo

It is impossible to talk about construction without mentioning cement. Nor can construction be possible without this precious powder. It is against this backdrop that cement is a major contributor to any country’s economy that environmentalists and cement companies continuously work towards, trying to find ways on how the eco system can be protected at best.

Ohorogo Cement is the only cement producing company in the country. The plant is located on a farm near Otavi village. It was established by the Schwenk family from Germany who have been in the cement production business for more than 160 years.

This therefore goes without saying, that Ohorogo Cement has vast knowledge on how best to protect and care for the environment through the use of advanced technology and a highly skilled workforce.

The Cement Company started its production in 2011, after completing its state of the art plant in less than two years. With more than N2.5 billion dollars invested in the construction only during the initial investment, Ohorongo proudly boasts to being the most technologically advanced plant in Africa.

With a production capacity in excess of 700 000 tonnes of international quality cement per year, the company has added value to the employment creation in line with Vision 2030. The company places much value on maintaining the eco system and ensuring that as little as possible damage is done to the environment. To ensure this is achieved the company has introduced and adaptable internationally accepted best practices to care for the environment and are audited on a regular basis.

The Ohorongo Cement Company in its production has factored in a number of important aspects to ensure the environment is maintained. These aspects include, the amount of electricity and water consumed by the plant during the production and the reduced emissions.

The high technology plant uses 30% less electricity on comparison to other ordinary cement plants, whereas on the other hand, it also saves 220 cubic meters of water per day.

The Ohorongo plant also reduces NOx emissions by more than half. The plant also uses some biomass (woodchips from invader bush) in the place of coal for the burning of clinker. According to the European Union standards, Ohorongo plant is one of the few plants worldwide with the lowest CO₂ emissions.