24 July 2014
Lafarge sells its Pakistan business 24 July 2014
Pakistan: Lafarge has announced that it will sell its 75.86% stake in Lafarge Pakistan Cement Ltd and will use the proceeds, estimated at Euro190m, to cut its debt. BestWay Cement has been announced as the buyer. The transaction still requires the approval of local market and anti-trust authorities.
Egypt: Sinai Cement Company (SCC) has contracted Danish engineering company FLSmidth to provide the equipment for it to start using coal. SCC added that it would also partner with local contractors and suppliers to equip the factory to use coal as an alternative fuel source to natural gas and Mazut fuel oil.
The industrial sector, which is represented by the Federation of Egyptian Industries, has shown signs of accepting recent increases in automotive petroleum products prices, including fuel, diesel and natural gas. The sector said that it would bear the cost of the energy price increases taking into account the current economic situation 'that doesn't allow for any alternative.'
Following the fuel price hike announcement, the government has raised gas prices for cement plants to US$8 per million British Thermal Units (BTUs) compared to US$6 previously. The price of fuel oil increased from US$209/t to US$315/t.
Despite the Ministry of Environment's opposition, the interim government approved the industrial use of coal as an alternative energy source in April 2014. The move came to address the energy shortage, pending the endorsement of the Environmental Impact Assessment. After issuing the decision, the government said that it would impose a tax on coal usage, while also amending laws and tightening penalties for violating environmental standards and regulations.
Minister of Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said that importing coal would not start until the environmental standards and regulations for the industrial use of coal have been finalised and ratified. However, cement plants have already started taking steps towards this. In a bid to shift to coal usage, the Arabian Cement Company commenced testing coal in June 2014 in thermal power generation. It aims to shift to this energy source for 50% of its needs. Suez Cement also recently announced plans to invest US$14.9m to convert two of its four cement plants to use coal. The conversion process for each plant will cost around US$21m.
Vietnam: The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has proposed that the government should add asbestos, which is widely used to produce roofing sheets in Vietnam, to the list of toxic chemicals subject to a full ban. There are 36 producers of asbestos cement (AC) roofing sheets in Vietnam, with an annual production capacity of 100Mm2 of roofing sheets.
Vietnam has used asbestos since the 1960s and the country is among the world's 10 largest users of asbestos, consuming and importing some 60,000t/yr. More than 90% is used to manufacture AC roofing sheets, while the rest is for the production of car brakes and thermal insulation.
Deputy health minister Nguyen Thanh Long has said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and international cancer research agencies have warned that all types of asbestos can cause lung, larynx and ovarian cancer, as well as mesothelioma and asbestosis. Asbestosis, a disease of the lungs caused by inhaling asbestos fibres, has been recognised in Vietnam as an occupational disease eligible for compensation since 1976. Ministry research has shown that people living near an area where asbestos is used, or those living under a roof made from asbestos, can also be affected.
The Research Institute of Technology for Machinery under the Ministry of Industry and Trade have developed a non-asbestos roofing sheet production line. Polyvinyl alcohol synthetic fibre (PVA) is used to replace the asbestos, while pulp additives increase stickiness. Prices of non-asbestos roofing sheets are 10 - 15% higher than those made from asbestos.