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$ 450 m pitch for KKS Cement Factory
The Lanka Cement factory at Kankesanthurai (‘KKS Factory’) was a pioneering northern industrial development project in the post-independent era. The KKS Factory commenced in 1950 under the Department of Industries and was converted to a public corporation in 1956, named Kankesan Cement Works.
The KKS factory closed its production in 1991 due to the then raging northern war. At the time of its closure, its production capacity was 115,000 MT and around 400 factory employees lost their livelihoods when it ceased operations.
Existence of limestone deposits in Kankesanthurai for cement production was a major incentive in establishing the factory in KKS. It is reported that the huge limestone deposits exceeding 80 million MT in the area is sufficient for the manufacturing of cement for another 100 years – even if they are extracted at a rate of 3,500 MT a day.
Previous news reports said that UAE-based Ras Al Khaimah Cement (RAKC) expressed interest in reviving the Kankesanthurai Cement Factory with a $ 100 million investment.
AFKO specialises in cement projects and keen to partner in the Kankesanthurai Cement Project with $ 450 million as a starting capital.
AFKO not limited to KKS and keen on cement production industries elsewhere in Sri Lanka, including Mannar.
AFKO feasibility study team will visit Sri Lanka shortly to start assessments and will enlist Korean conglomerate Ssangyong C&T which ran more than 30 large projects abroad since 1990 as their main engineering company to start KKS construction.
Lee’s AFKO Group, which merged to Korea’s multinational chaebol Hyundai Group in 2008, has its own construction and cement projects in Africa and elsewhere. Hyundai Motor Group has 18 affiliate firms with about $ 35 b turnover and is the second largest chaebol in South Korea.
The Ssangyong Group, at one time the fourth-largest South Korean conglomerate, reported annual sales around $ 20 b and has many subsidiaries under it. Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay Sands towers were a creation of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction, which is well known for landmark projects and a spin-off of Ssangyong Cement Industrial Co. Ltd.
In a new breakthrough in the ongoing revival saga of the historic Kankesanthurai (KKS) cement project, a South Korean conglomerate of global scale said it was vying to clinch the mega Northern project.
Interestingly, the Korean conglomerate is to enlist yet another gigantic Korean multinational for the required engineering services for the huge KKS project.
“We shall bring in all the necessary machineries and technology and can start from scratch; we only need Sri Lanka’s land and labour,” said Korea’s AFKO Group GMEX Chairman Keun Young Lee on 24 May.
Industries based on limestone and its derivatives:
OSL Take:
The revival of KKS factory is good news for the construction industry in Sri Lanka as the logistical saving will be passed on to the end consumer.
Also, more job opportunities for the regional labour force is expected in the revived factory and this will in turn develop the income levels of surrounding villages in close proximity to Kankesanthurai.
The infrastructure upgrades needed to run the supply chain efficiently and the transportation requirement of finished product will also lead to further development of the Kankesanthurai region in to a modern industrial city.
The Lanka Cement factory at Kankesanthurai (‘KKS Factory’) was a pioneering northern industrial development project in the post-independent era. The KKS Factory commenced in 1950 under the Department of Industries and was converted to a public corporation in 1956, named Kankesan Cement Works.
The KKS factory closed its production in 1991 due to the then raging northern war. At the time of its closure, its production capacity was 115,000 MT and around 400 factory employees lost their livelihoods when it ceased operations.
Existence of limestone deposits in Kankesanthurai for cement production was a major incentive in establishing the factory in KKS. It is reported that the huge limestone deposits exceeding 80 million MT in the area is sufficient for the manufacturing of cement for another 100 years – even if they are extracted at a rate of 3,500 MT a day.
Previous news reports said that UAE-based Ras Al Khaimah Cement (RAKC) expressed interest in reviving the Kankesanthurai Cement Factory with a $ 100 million investment.
AFKO specialises in cement projects and keen to partner in the Kankesanthurai Cement Project with $ 450 million as a starting capital.
AFKO not limited to KKS and keen on cement production industries elsewhere in Sri Lanka, including Mannar.
AFKO feasibility study team will visit Sri Lanka shortly to start assessments and will enlist Korean conglomerate Ssangyong C&T which ran more than 30 large projects abroad since 1990 as their main engineering company to start KKS construction.
Lee’s AFKO Group, which merged to Korea’s multinational chaebol Hyundai Group in 2008, has its own construction and cement projects in Africa and elsewhere. Hyundai Motor Group has 18 affiliate firms with about $ 35 b turnover and is the second largest chaebol in South Korea.
The Ssangyong Group, at one time the fourth-largest South Korean conglomerate, reported annual sales around $ 20 b and has many subsidiaries under it. Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay Sands towers were a creation of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction, which is well known for landmark projects and a spin-off of Ssangyong Cement Industrial Co. Ltd.
In a new breakthrough in the ongoing revival saga of the historic Kankesanthurai (KKS) cement project, a South Korean conglomerate of global scale said it was vying to clinch the mega Northern project.
Interestingly, the Korean conglomerate is to enlist yet another gigantic Korean multinational for the required engineering services for the huge KKS project.
“We shall bring in all the necessary machineries and technology and can start from scratch; we only need Sri Lanka’s land and labour,” said Korea’s AFKO Group GMEX Chairman Keun Young Lee on 24 May.
Industries based on limestone and its derivatives:
- Cement
- Agriculture
- Metallurgical processes
- Lime wash, distemper and paints
- Glass
- Calcium carbide manufacture
- Water and sanitation
- Paper
- Other
OSL Take:
The revival of KKS factory is good news for the construction industry in Sri Lanka as the logistical saving will be passed on to the end consumer.
Also, more job opportunities for the regional labour force is expected in the revived factory and this will in turn develop the income levels of surrounding villages in close proximity to Kankesanthurai.
The infrastructure upgrades needed to run the supply chain efficiently and the transportation requirement of finished product will also lead to further development of the Kankesanthurai region in to a modern industrial city.
The Sri Lanka Cement Corporation is to invest Rs. 1500 million to revamp the Kankesan Cement Plant in Kankesanthurai, which was the main cement supplier in the country prior to establishment of the Galle cement factory.
