Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS), situated in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo, is expected to benefit from a boom in construction demand over the coming years. According to a recent research report from RHB Research Institute, major construction projects will lead to an estimated growth in demand of 5% in 2013 and 2014 and a constant growth of 2.5% from 2015 onwards. The group currently has grinding capacity for 1.6 million t and imported some 95 000 t of cement last year to meet the shortfall in supply. RHB Research predicts that this would grow to 0.5 million t of imports by 2020 if production levels in Sarawak remained the same. However, CMS has approved a proposal for a new 1 million tpa cement grinding line at an investment of RM150 million. This follows a RM78 million upgrade at CMS Clinker Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary, which will increase clinker production to 896 000 tpa. Together these developments should help to reduce imports.
As well as cement production, the CMS group portfolio includes other construction materials, trading, construction, road maintenance, property development and other services. The group maintains approximately 4800 km of state roads and 680 km of federal roads and supplies about half of Sarawak’s asphaltic concrete (premix) and bitumen emulsion.
Edited from various sources by Katherine Guenioui.