Building materials company Afrimat sees a big opportunity in supplying Mozambique’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, especially in the north of the country.
Andries van Heerden, Afrimat CEO, said last week that the company was eyeing the gas development plans of Italian company Eni and American group Anadarko in northern Mozambique.
In 2010, Anadarko made a major discovery of gas in the Rovuma basin in the north of Mozambique and, to date, more than 75 trillion cubic feet of natural gas has been discovered.
During an Afrimat investor day, Van Heerden said that the development of natural gas projects in Mozambique would create demand for construction materials like aggregates and that Afrimat was well-positioned to meet this demand in future.
Afrimat’s chief financial officer, Pieter de Wit, said that the company’s Mozambican operations were in start-up mode and were making a small profit.
Gerhard Odendaal, head of Afrimat Contracting International, said that his unit had expanded into Mozambique.
According to Odendaal, his unit saw a “huge opportunity” in Mozambique’s LNG sector.
“It’s not about if, it is about when,” he said.
De Wit said that the company was planning to spend R124 million in capital across the group during the year to February 2017, down from R131 million the previous year.
In another development, Afrimat announced that it had bought a Bethlehem quarry from WG Wearne for about R30 million.