K.K.S. Cement Factory

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KKS cement factory to be revived

One of Sri Lanka’s well known post-independent manufacturing legends is returning to life as broad consensus was clinched for its revival in Jaffna on Monday.

Northern MPs have welcomed the revival of the defunct Kankesanthurai Cement Factory (KCF), at Kankesanthurai.

Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen has received support from area MPs at a meeting at the Jaffna District Secretariat.

Lanka Cement factory at Kankasanturai (KKS Factory) was a pioneering northern industrial development project that commenced in 1950 under the Department of Industries and was converted to a Public Corporation in 1956, being named as Kankesan Cement Works.

Previously, UAE-based Ras Al Khaimah Cement Company (RAKCC) expressed interest in reviving the Kankesanthurai Cement Factory with a US$ 100 million investment.

In 2011/12, a high level decision was taken to amalgamate Sri Lanka Cement Corporation (SLCC) with Lanka Cement Limited (LCL). SLCC and LCL were jointly planning to resume bagging operations at Kankesanthurai factory.

Minister Bathiudeen assured the revived KCF process would be different.”We have to install all the machines from scratch. From the very start, we plan to do it with international standards. We will revive it with environment friendly, latest cement manufacturing technologies.”

The Kankesanthurai Cement Factory; monument to Joseph Jayamanne-by Mario Perera

Source:Lankaweb

The following information in InfoLanka caught my eye.

(Colombo Lankapuvath April 19) The Cement Factory in Kannkasanthurai (KKS) may probably begin within next few months.

The factory was closed for the last 30 years due to terrorist activities in the area.

Preliminary steps have been completed under the directive of the pioneer of the Uthuru Vasanthaya program on the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to recommence the factory and that renovation work has commenced said Jaffna Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe.

Jobs to around 3,000 persons would be provided with its operations on track again and it was mentioned that productions may start within the next few months.

On the 6th October 1987 Mr.Joseph Jayamanne brilliant Mechanical Engineer and General Manager of Lanka Cement was brutally abducted together with his Deputy Mr.Gajanayake by the barbarous LTTE, and taken to the entrance of the above mentioned cement factory.They were still in their night clothing, their sarongs. There at that entrance they were shot through their foreheads and left dead.

This episode is mentioned in the book “The Broken Palmyrah” authored by a group of Tamil intellectuals and academics. The book refers to Joseph Jayamanne as a very capable and enthusiastic engineer. It also mentions Mr.Jayamanne’s concern and attachment to his Tamil staff and work force of the factory, and his successful efforts at a difficult period to ensure that they were paid their dues. The book goes on to narrate the anger of the Tamil staff at the senseless murder of this great man, and of their helplessness and despair subsequent to his tragic demise.

Joseph Jayamanne was the Project Manager of the Kankesanthurai Cement Factory. He was its builder. He also built the present Kankesanthurai harbour, several military installations of the north, as well as the Harbour View Hotel. The army commander of that time, General Cyril Ranatunga bore testimony to these facts. Mr Jayamanne spent several years in Jaffna totally devoted to his tasks, which meant neglecting his young family at Eldeniya, Kadawata. The news of his murder spread like wild fire and occupied the headlines of the newspapers. Some articles highlighted his great love and esteem for the Tamil people and expressed utter disbelief about the fate he suffered. The Minister of Defence Mr.Lalith Athulathmudali sent a personal message of sympathies while, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe as well as Mr.Somaratne, Chairman of the Cement Corporation visited his home and expressed their grief and condoleances. Mr.Somaratne paid high tribute to this selfless and dedicated man. A great number of distinguished visitors thronged his home for the memorial service. The LTTE had reportedly burnt his body so that not a stitch of his clothing came home for burial.

Now that the factory is going to be relaunched, I wish to make a plea to His Excellency the President on behalf of the family of the late Mr.Joseph Jayamanne, that his statue be constructed and placed on the factory premises as a symbol of his preponderant role in the planning and construction of the Kankesanthurai Cement Factory, and the supreme sacrifice he made on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil population.

Mario Perera,
Kadawata

KKS Cement Factory to resume operations, Sri Lanka

Source:Cemnet

THe Kankesanthurei Cement Factory (KKS), Sri Lanka’s oldest cement plant, will resume operations before year-end under a programme to revive state ventures, according to Dr Willy Gamage State Resources and Enterprise Development Ministry Secretary

In a interview with the Sri Lanka Sunday Observer, Mr Gamage and SJ Paranagama, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Cement Corporation (SLCC) discussed the project’s progress.

Presently, there are two projects in the pipeline: one is the establishment of a cement packing plant which will be launched shortly. At a total cost of SLR800m, the facility will have a capacity to pack 2600 bags per hour. The second project involves the recommissioning of the cement plant which will “restore the past glory of the corporation,” the executives stated. Both projects are scheduled to begin this year.

The demand for cement in Sri Lanka is increasing rapidly due to new infrastructure projects launched by the government and the private sector in the conflict-affected areas in the North and the East. The new housing development program also needs cement in large quantities. “As a State Corporation we have to supply cement to consumers at a reasonable price and also to look after the interest of the employees who are there for the last number of years,” the Observer quoted them as saying.

In terms of the market outlook, the interview stated: “The local cement market has now hit a target of 6.2Mta, some industry experts believe. The market is growing at the rate of 10 per cent per annum. There is large scope for the cement manufacturing industry in the country.”