Cement manufacturer PPC has entered into a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Sinoma Overseas Development Corporation (Sinoma) to work together on opportunities to improve efficiencies.
The agreement, announced yesterday, will also modernise technologies, reduce production costs, accelerate the transition to alternative non-fossil fuels, and expand capacities in PPC operations in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Matias Cardarelli, CEO of PPC, expressed optimism about the agreement with Sinoma.
“In the current highly competitive environment, we must operate our industrial operations in the most efficient way to produce high-quality products sustainably at the right cost,” Cardarelli said.
“This agreement strengthens our relationship with Sinoma and will be one of the pillars of our recently initiated turnaround process, which aims to rebuild a profitable and sustainable PPC. It also highlights the commitment of both parties to advancing sustainable practices and encouraging innovation in the cement industry,” he said.
Sinoma is a prominent Chinese engineering and construction company and the world’s service and equipment provider for the cement industry worldwide.
Sinoma Overseas, a subsidiary of China National Materials Group Corporation (Sinoma Group), is an engineering and construction company that specialises in industrial plants, infrastructure projects, and environmental-protection facilities.
Their services cover project management, engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning in various industries such as cement, energy, metallurgy, and mining.
With contracts for nearly 300 cement production lines in over 80 countries, Sinoma was said to be the most influential brand in the global building-materials engineering market.
Earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET IP) for the five-year period 2023 to 2027 set out the scale of need and the investments required to achieve the decarbonisation commitments in the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
The NDC outlined the rate at which South Africa planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and represents South Africa’s fair contribution to the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Ramaphosa said the Investment Plan supported SA’s goal of achieving a low-carbon economy and a climate-resilient society.
“It is about addressing the global risks of climate change, while creating jobs and driving more rapid and inclusive economic growth. It is about translating commitments into reality, enabling stronger and deeper collaboration, and facing up to the greatest challenge of our times,” he said.
In November, the Cabinet approved the implementation framework for the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan, which sets out the interventions and investments needed for SA to meet its decarbonisation commitments and deliver just outcomes for those affected by the energy transition.
The JET IP Implementation Plan defined short and medium-term outcomes in six defined portfolios and designates key institutions to lead the identified areas of work, including electricity infrastructure, Mpumalanga’s Just Transition, new energy vehicles, green hydrogen, skills and municipalities.
BUSINESS REPORT