Displaying items by tag: Plant
Bosowa starts US$310m clinker plant in Maros
21 November 2012Indonesia: Cement producer PT Semen Bosowa Maros has officially begun construction on a new US$310m clinker plant in South Sulawesi. The new plant, will be called Kiln Plant Line 2, and the entire site will have a production capacity of 5.2Mt/yr. The existing plant at the site has a capacity of 2.5Mt/yr. The plant is expected to be complete before the end of 2014.
"As of now, our cement production is 3.2Mt/yr, only about 6% of the national demand," said Bosowa Corporation chief executive officer Erwin Aksa. Higher clinker production is expected to help the company meet the country's growing cement demands.
Bosowa Corporation producers 2.2Mt at its Semen Bosowa Maros plant and 1Mt at its Batam-based PT Semen Bosowa Indonesia plant. The group is expected to have a production capacity of around 10Mt/yr in 2015. By then Indonesia's domestic demand is estimated to be 53Mt/yr.
Clinker produced by Kiln Plant Line 2 will be delivered to Bosowa's grinding plants. Semen Bosowa Maros is now developing new grinding plants in Banyuwangi in East Java, Cilegon in Banten, Sorong in West Papua and Amurang in North Sulawesi.
The Banyuwangi grinding plant will have a production capacity of 1.8Mt/yr with an investment of US$103m. It is scheduled to open before the end of 2013. The Cilegon grinding plant will have a production capacity of 1.8Mt/yr with an investment of US$103m. It is scheduled to open in 2014.
New Oman plant could bring end to dumping
14 November 2012Oman: Plans to build a cement plant in Oman's northern city of Al Duqm are progressing, with the promoters starting to identify limestone mines in the area. The project, which will have a production capacity of 3-4Mt/yr, is aimed at enhancing the availability of cement in the country to meet additional demand arising from major government-supported infrastructure projects and other construction activities.
Sources said that the Duqm cement project will be promoted by a well established 100% Omani firm, which will carry out exports through Duqm port. "It is going to be a very big project. The cement plant will be set up in coordination with the port," said a source.
Presently, the two cement producers in the country, Raysut Cement and Oman Cement, have a combined capacity of 4.7Mt/yr. However, if the capacity of Raysut's Ras Al Khaimah, UAE-based Pioneer Cement Industries is included, the total installed capacity is much higher at 6.4Mt/yr. An important advantage for the proposed cement plant is the rich deposits of limestone in the region.
In a recent forecast Raysut predicted that the construction industry in Oman would grow to US$5bn by 2016 at an average rate of 6%/yr. It supported this assertion with the news that a number of formerly suspended programmes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been reinstated. However, the group added that cement supplies in Oman remain under 'significant' pressure from imports from UAE. It is estimated that UAE has an overcapacity of cement of around 65%. Raysut also expects that demand in Yemen and east Africa will aid the company.
CSN plans 3Mt/yr expansion in Minas Gerais
07 November 2012Brazil: Steel manufacturer CSN has announced plans to set up four cement assets in Minas Gerais state. The company wants to grow its current cement production capacity of 2.4Mt/yr to 5.4Mt/yr with an investment of US$491m.
CSN has proposed setting up three cement plants and a second clinker unit, adding to one at Arcos that began operations on May 2011. Currently the clinker unit at Arcos supplies 2500t/day the company's plant at Volta Redonda in Rio de Janeiro. The second clinker unit would expand this to 6500t/day, making it the largest clinker production site in Latin America.
Other cement companies investing in Minas Gerais state include Cimentos Liz's US$147m expansion to its capacity at plants in Vespasiano and Lagoa Santa. Holcim is growing the capacity of its plant in Barroso from 1.3Mt/yr to 3.5Mt.yr. Both Holcim and Cimentos Liz are receiving funding from the state development bank BDMG.
Holcim Philippines planning US$350m plant on strong Q3
31 October 2012Philippines: Holcim Philippines has plans to invest US$350m to US$450m on building a new 2Mt/yr cement plant due to increased demand and sales in the third quarter. This quarter is normally a weak season for the construction industry because of monsoon rains.
Holcim Philippines' chief operating officer Roland van Wijnen said that cement demand remained robust on account of sustained government infrastructure spending and steady rollout of residential and commercial projects. The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) has reported a growth rate of 20% since October 2011.
Holcim Philippines reported a 22.5% growth in its net income to US$61.5m in the first nine months of 2012 from US$50.3m in the same period of 2011. Revenues for the past nine months reached US$491m, an increase of 22.5% year on year. However, third quarter earnings in 2012 declined to US$12.5m from US$15.2m in 2011. The company attributed this to having to import clinker to augment production given that several of its facilities were under preventive maintenance.
"The challenge for us is to meet increasing demand over the longer term. We have begun reactivating our idle facilities, beginning with our terminal in Calaca, Batangas in 2011. Our grinding plant in Mabini will be operational by the third quarter of 2011," said van Wijnen. Holcim Philippines is now preparing a proposal for a new cement plant to be submitted for board approval in the first half of 2013. If built this will boost the firm's cement capacity to about 9.5Mt/yr with a completion date of 2016.
Suhgd Cement launches 0.1Mt/yr plant in Tajikistan
31 October 2012Tajikistan: New cement producer Suhgd Cement has opened a 100,000t/yr cement plant in northern Tajikistan. Tajik Energy and Industry Minister Gul Sherali attended the official opening ceremony on 20 October 2012.
The company intends its capacity to grow to 1Mt/yr, making it the biggest cement producer in the country. Equipment for the plant was sourced from Chinese suppliers at a cost of US$1.8m. More than 140 people work at the plant, which will rise to 300 when the capacity increases.
Tajikcement is currently the biggest cement producer in Tajikistan with a capacity of 1.1Mt/yr. However the country continues to import building materials to satisfy demand. In September 2011 the joint company Juaxin Gayur Cement JV, between Tajik Gayur and Chinese Juaxin Central Asia Investment, started construction of a 1Mt/yr plant in the Javan region costing US$100m. This plant is expected to be launched in autumn 2013.
Italcementi bucks trend with Euro150m eco-investment
25 October 2012Italy: Italcementi has announced that it will invest Euro150m in order to revamp its cement plant in Rezzato, which was built in 1964. Italcementi has stated that it wants to turn the plant into the most modern and ecological cement plant in Europe, with work set to start in November 2012. It said that the opening of the adapted plant would be scheduled for some time towards the end of 2014.
Italcementi's CEO Carlo Pesenti said that the restructuring would lead to an improvement in the environmental and economic sustainability of the plant, as well as cutting production costs by 23% and reducing specific consumption of raw materials by 8%.
Sephaku Cement secures US$223m for new 1.2Mt/yr plant
24 October 2012South Africa: Sephaku Cement, a subsidiary of Nigeria's Dangote Cement, has secured US$223m of domestic debt funding for a US$389m cement plant and grinding facility project in Mpumalanga and North West provinces.
Two of the country's big four banks, Standard Bank and Nedbank, advised by Sasfin Capital, have jointly funded the 10-year deal. Sephaku said this was a 'strong' vote of confidence in South Africa's market and that the agreement would enable it to become a significant competitor in the wholesale and retail cement trade in the region.
Sephaku Cement, established in 2006, is an associate of JSE-listed Sephaku Holdings, a 64%-owned subsidiary of Nigerian-based Dangote Cement. Dangote had invested more than US$126m in the venture, the largest ever foreign direct investment in South Africa by an African company. The new project includes a production facility, which would produce about 1.2Mt/yr, at Aganang near Lichtenburg in North West.
Mexican billionaire bankrolls new US$300m plant
17 October 2012Mexico: Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and businessman Antonio del Valle have joined forces in a new cement venture in Mexico that plans to start operations in early 2013 with a capacity of 1Mt/yr.
Cementos Fortaleza, part of business group Elementia, is nearing completion of a plant in central Mexico at an investment of US$300m. In its initial phase the plant is expected to supply cement to retail users in central Mexico. The plant's first deliveries are expected in February 2013. Cementos Fortaleza will have an estimated 3% market share to begin with. It will compete with companies such as market leader Cemex and Holcim Apasco, a unit of Switzerland's Holcim.
Elementia Chief Executive Eduardo Musalem said at a press conference that Slim, through his company Grupo Carso SAB owns 46% of the Elementia and Del Valle 54%. Del Valle is one of the principal shareholders and honourary chairman for life of chemicals company Mexichem SAB.
Uruguay: Three cement companies are planning to invest up to US$262m in the Treinta y Tres region of Uruguay to meet demand for building materials driven by the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
The Uruguan state oil and cement company Ancap, alongside Spanish firm Cementos Molins and Brazil's Votorantim, have filed an environmental impact study for a new cement plant with a capacity of 750,000t/yr. Total costs are estimated at US$160m, with Cementos Molins contributing 60% of the investment and Ancap and Votarantim contributing 20% each.
Ancap is also preparing environmental studies for two new lime production plants. A first unit will have a capacity of 150t/day with an investment of US$7m. Ancap has already secured a contract with Brazilian federal power holding group Eletrobras to place this production. A second unit will have a capacity of 500t/day with an investment of US$95m, including infrastructure costs related to the project.
In order to provide the region with better export options towards Brazil, Uruguayan port authority ANP is trying to develop a commercial route connecting the Merín and the Los Patos lakes. Merín lake is on the border between Uruguay and Brazil's southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul, and it is connected by the San Gonzalo canal to the Los Patos lake, which in turn empties into the Atlantic ocean.
South Africa: Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) has been granted environmental authorisation by the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning for the second phase of its Western Cape modernisation project. This includes replacing two ageing cement kilns at its Riebeeck plant with a new five stage preheater kiln. However, interested and affected parties could still appeal the decision.
PPC has completed the first phase of its modernisation strategy, a US$33m upgrade of a cement kiln at the De Hoek plant near Piketberg, resulting in improved environmental performance and thermal efficiency. PPC embarked on its modernisation strategy to ensure that it will have competitive, energy-efficient plants that comply with future changes to South African environmental legislation. It estimates that the complete modernisation strategy will be sufficient to meet Western Cape cement demand until 2022.