Mumbai-based Siemens Ltd. has bagged an export order from ThyssenKrupp group company Polysius AG to provide complete electrical enginering works  for Namibia's first ever cement plant, being put up by the Ohorongo Cement Company, scheduled to be commissioned by December 2010.

Ohorongo Cement  is being promoted by Germany-based Schwenk (Pty) Limited with a local entity, the Namibia Investor Group, at an estimated investment of N$2.5 billion for a 2,100 TPD cement plant and a terminal with a grinding plant at Walvis Bay.

The factory completion is scheduled to take 27 months to be fully operational by 2010, while the Walvis Bay terminal is expected to be functioning at what Ohrongo considers "optimal level" by mid-2009. On completion, the factory will produce 600 000 tonnes of cement per year.

Siemens' industry sector, industrial solutions division in India had bid for the order from Polysius AG, the premier cement technology company. The order is on a turnkey basis for the supply of an entire range of electrical and instrumentation equipment for the Ohorongo cement plant in Namibia. This would be Namibia's first-ever cement plant.

The state-of-the-art plant with a capacity of 2,100 TPD is located at Otavi, near the Windhoek area in Namibia, which has abundant reserves of limestone and has well linked rail and road networks. The cement produced from this plant will be marketed within Namibia as well as in the neighboring countries of Angola and Botswana.

Siemens will engineer and supply the entire plant electrics that includes 132 kV outdoor gas insulated switchgear switchyard, power and distribution transformers, 11 kV vacuum circuit breaker panels, power control centers and intelligent motor control centres, MV and LV motors, variable voltage variable frequency drives, cables, lighting as well as earthing system, power factor correction systems, control automation, field instruments, etc.

Commenting on this order, Dr Armin Bruck, MD Siemens Ltd. said," We are happy to be a part of such a prominent project in Namibia where we can showcase our wide expertise, particularly in the cement sector. Our track record for timely and quality execution of large, complex projects coupled with our ability to provide fully integrated solutions at competitive prices enabled us to win the order."

Industrial Solutions (IS) division is a part of the Industry Sector of Siemens Ltd and this division is the integrator of systems and solutions for industrial and infrastructure facilities and global service provider for the plant and projects business covering the entire life cycle from planning, installation, operation and maintenance. IS uses various products, systems and process technologies in order to enhance productivity and improve competitiveness of companies in the sectors of metallurgy, water treatment, cement, pulp and paper, oil and gas, marine engineering, open-cast mining, airport logistics, postal automation, intelligent traffic systems and industrial services.

Siemens Ltd is the flagship listed company of the Siemens group of companies in India, which comprises 19 seperate entities. Siemens is a leading provider of industry and infrastructure solutions with a business volume aggregating about Rs11,000 crore. It operates in the core business segments of energy, industry transportation, healthcare, information technology, communication and lighting.

Last month the 'Scheme of Amalgamation' of the company's wholly-owned subsidiary Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Services Pvt. Ltd (SITS), Bangalore, with Siemens Ltd was sanctioned by the Karnataka High Court and the appointed date was fixed as 1 April 2008.

The share price of Siemens on the BSE was up by 7.90 per cent at Rs308, opened at 288 and went to a high of Rs309.