Zambia: Lafarge Zambia will begin work on the US$217m expansion of its cement plant in Lusaka in 2015 despite the recent opening of Dangote s cement plant in the country and slow regional economic growth.

Construction will start in the second half of 2015 and be completed in 2018, according to Emmanuel Rigaux, chief executive of the plant. The work will double Lafarge s cement production capacity to 2Mt/yr.

Lafarge s expansion and Dangote s new plant are not expected to cause a cement glut in Zambia, mainly because of demand from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. "The growth there is massive, in fact it s even higher than in Zambia," said Rigaux.

Chinese and Zambian officials also appear to be planning the construction of a cement plant in Zambia: Find story here.