13 January 2015
Kohat Cement plant allegedly causing pollution 13 January 2015
Pakistan: People living in the vicinity of Kohat Cement Factory have complained that dust and fumes emitted from the plant's two kilns are causing serious diseases. A group of local elders said that continuous blasts in the mountains near the factory had also caused cracks in the houses of local people, but that the factory administration was not ready to listen to their complaints or provide assistance to repair them.
The elders said that the plant administration was bound under an agreement to pay surface rent to the people on whose collective land the plant had been built, but no dues had been paid to the people since 1992. The agreement also included providing 80% of the jobs in the plant to local people, which the elders said was also being violated.
Lafarge Tarmac sells land for new Euro2.56bn theme park 13 January 2015
UK: Lafarge Tarmac has agreed to sell land that once housed the UK's largest cement plant to allow the construction of a Euro2.56bn theme park.
The 1.37km2 Swanscombe Peninsula site in Kent has been earmarked as the home for the proposed London Paramount Entertainment Resort after developer London Resort Holding Company agreed a deal to buy the land. The sale follows an announcement in May 2014 that the resort would be designated a 'nationally significant' project.
"We take a long-term view of our landholdings from mineral extraction to development and restoration; creating jobs, supporting communities and continuing responsible environmental stewardship," said Lafarge Tarmac chief executive Cyrille Ragoucy. "We are proud to be part of this exciting project. This is a fitting legacy for land which has been owned by Lafarge Tarmac for over 140 years."
The sale is expected to go through once planning permission for the scheme is granted. London Resort Holding has already held two stages of public consultation, involving more than 4000 local people. Two more stages are planned ahead of a submission to the Planning Inspectorate in Autumn 2015.
"With this agreement in place, the vision for Kent as the home of a nationally-significant, multi-billion pound entertainment resort employing thousands of people is moving closer to becoming a reality," said David Testa, executive director of London Resort Holding. "It further underlies our commitment to delivering the project and is welcome news as we continue to consultant and engagement with the local Dartford and Gravesham communities living near the site and more widely with our interested parties."
Cameroon: Dangote Cement's cement plant in Cameroon is set to enter production in January 2015, according to project chief, Baba Abduhallï. The plant was built on the banks of the Wouri River. It has already received its first raw material shipments from a quarry in the city of Tombel, which Dangote Cement Cameroon has approval to use for five years.
Initially, Dangote Cement Cameroon plans to produce 1.5Mt/yr of cement, raising national production to around 3.6Mt/yr, including 500,000t/yr from the Moroccan company, CIMAF and 1.6Mt/yr for Cimencam, Lafarge's subsidiary.
Ghorahi Cement halts production 13 January 2015
Nepal: On 13 January 2015, Ghorahai Cement Industry (GCI) stopped production due to a protest by its tipper operators. The tippers, which supply raw materials to the cement plant, have remained off the roads for the past nine days, putting pressure on Ghorahai to increase transportation charge.
"We have not been able to produce cement for the past nine days as tipper operators are not supplying raw materials to the factory," said a company official. Ghorahi Cement, which is located in Laxmipur, Dang Deokhuri District, produces Sagarmatha brand cement.
Tipper operators have asked the cement industry to increase transportation charge by US$1.49/t to US$6.48/t. They said that the cement plant has not revised its transportation charges for the past 18 months. Tipper operators launched protests after the industry refused to raise the transportation charge.
"We had been demanding revision in transportation charges for a long time," said Bharatnath Yogi, senior vice president of the Tipper Operators Committee of Dang. "We were forced launch the strike after the industry showed reluctance to address our demand."
Showing solidarity to the tipper operators' protest, truck operators have also stopped supplying cement and clinker manufactured by the industry to the market. Due to the protest, finished cement products remain in the plant's warehouses. According to a Ghorahi Cement official, 32,000t of clinker produced by the cement industry has remained unsold.
"Tipper operators have been pushing for a hike in transportation charges at a time when the price of petroleum products is coming down. This is not logical," said the Ghorahi Cement official.