Bamburi Cement to stop ordinary portland production

By Peter Ochieng

Bamburi Cement Plc has announced plans to discontinue production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) within its product line from 1st January 2024, as part of its commitment to decarbonizing its operations and providing a greener option of building materials.

The landmark commitment which comes amid the ongoing 2023 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), accelerates the company's sustainability target to 100 percent green products by 2025, decreasing carbon (CO2) emissions to fight climate change.

In his address to the summit, President William Ruto said the world must install clear roadmaps that will turn Africa into a green powerhouse.

“This is not just essential but also an important ingredient for industrial decarbonisation. A unified global effort will ensure that we mobilize capital for both our development and necessary climate action,” he remarked.

Announcing the landmark commitment, Bamburi Cement Group Managing Director Mohit Kapoor said it will affect the production of Powerplus cement, used in medium to large construction projects, but will have no disruptive impact on customers due to presence of alternative greener products.

“Bamburi Cement Plc is steering future construction processes and built environment’s life cycle towards environmental protection. Withdrawing OPC from the construction sector is critical to greening and decarbonising the industry,” he stated.

“In combination with the thrust on the use of eco-friendly cement offerings, it gives us the opportunity to onboard our partners and customers in our unstoppable journey to net-zero,” he added.

As an alternative and in mitigation to the OPC, the company’s Head of Innovation and Technical Services Fidelis Sakwa said they have a range of eco-labelled cement products, which assure better quality and durable construction output with low carbon emissions.

"Our flagship eco-labelled product Bamburi Duracem 42.5 cement reduces carbon emissions by 64% in comparison to the OPC. Duracem was successfully used to build the Makupa Bridge in Mombasa resulting in a saving of 10 million kg of CO2 as compared to OPC that would have been used," said Engineer Sakwa.

He added that Bamburi Cement’s technical team has invited contractors for consultative opportunities on providing viable options including conducting project specific concrete mix designs with a lower carbon footprint in the near term.

OPC has been used traditionally for large infrastructure projects and high rise buildings. It typically contains 95% clinker, an intermediate material in the manufacture of cement produced by burning limestone and other materials in a kiln where carbon dioxide (CO2) is consistently released in the process.

OPC emits the highest greenhouse gases into the atmosphere during its manufacturing and production, with one tone of clinker emitting around 0.83 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, according to Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) regional data.

In November last year, Bamburi Cement eco-labeled its four cement brands to represent 30% lower CO2 emissions compared to pure Ordinary Portland Cement. The four are Bamburi Duracem, Bamburi Fundi, Bamburi Tembo, and Bamburi Nguvu.