Ohorongo takes another step towards completion

THE development of Namibia’s own cement plant is progressing well with the completion of the first phase of silo construction at Ohorongo Cement at Otavi.

The foundations of three silos were poured, each of which will be 70 metres high and able to store 7 500 tonnes of cement.The tremendous size of this foundation required the work be done in two sessions of which the first session lasted 22 hours and used 1 200 m³ of concrete processed from the batching plant on the Ohorongo site. The entire foundation covers an area of 40 metres by 14,6 metres and is 3,5 metres high. A staggering 200 000 kilograms of reinforced steel was used to ensure it could handle the projected heavy load on the foundation in future.The foundation for the silos will come to a total of 2 000m³. Other large foundations on site include the cement mills at 1 300 m³, with the largest being the Clinker Silo at 4 800m³. The projected amount of cement necessary to complete the entire cement factory by next year is 50 000 m³, still making this project one of the largest in Namibia.Ohorongo Managing Director Hans Schütte said the company took great satisfaction from the fast, smooth monthly progress with the erection of the main foundations and civil work.