14 July 2015
Burnpur Cement inaugurates new plant in Jharkhand 14 July 2015
India: According to Accord Fintech, Burnpur Cement's new plant at Patratu Industrial Area, Patratu, Jharkhand was inaugurated by chief minister of Jharkhand, Shri Raghuvar Das, on 13 July 2015.
Vietnam: According to Vietnam News Agency Bulletin, domestic cement consumption and exports both improved in the first half of 2015 despite increased competitive pressure from neighbouring countries.
Statistics from the construction ministry showed that in the first half of 2015, Vietnam's cement consumption grew by 6% year-on-year to 34.2Mt, meeting 47% of the whole year's target. Of this, domestic consumption was 5% higher than in 2014 at 25.9Mt. Vietnam exported 8.19Mt of cement, representing an 8% year-on-year increase. In June 2015, cement consumption was estimated at 5.68Mt, 12% higher than in 2014, including 4.63Mt in the domestic market and 1.05Mt for exports. The ministry said that cement and clinker exports in the first half of 2015 faced difficult conditions in some markets, especially Bangladesh.
Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of the Vietnam Cement Association, said that there was no concern about the cement consumption in the 2015 - 2016 period thanks to a rising domestic demand. In 2015, domestic cement consumption is estimated to increase by 5Mt. Cung said that cement consumption in the domestic market has risen thanks to improvement in the real estate market, while rural infrastructures have been actively developed. The ministry has calculated that cement consumption in 2015 will grow by 1.5 – 2% to 72 - 74Mt. Of this, local consumption will be 53 – 54Mt, while 19 – 20Mt will be exported.
In 2015 Vietnam will have two new projects, including the 600,000t/yr capacity Song Lam 2 cement plant and the 3.6Mt/yr capacity Cong Thanh Cement plant. This will bring the country's total cement production lines to 76, with 81.6Mt/yr of designed capacity.
Cement production in 2016 is expected to meet domestic consumption demands plus 15 – 16Mt of exports, in addition to a reserve of 10 – 15% to stabilise the market, especially in the southern region. Cung said that there will not be any new cement projects in 2016, although a number of major projects would be carried out during the 2017 - 2018 period.
Governer claims limestone storage endangers health 14 July 2015
Mozambiqiue: According to Mozambique News Agency, the governor of Sofala, Helena Taipo, has ordered the limestone storage facility in Muanza be moved on environmental and health grounds.
Taipo took this measure after a message presented by local residents at a rally she addressed in Muanza, which complained at the way the limestone is currently stored. The residents said that the health problems allegedly caused by limestone dust are not new. Local people have long complained against the practice of Cimpor's Cimentos de Mocambique of storing large quantities of limestone next to Mwanza station, where it awaits transport by train to the cement plant in the nearby town of Dondo.
Taipo said that she did not really need to hear the complaint, since she could see the problem with her own eyes. "I have seen the houses covered with white dust," said Taipo. "Even here at the rally I've seen the dust, which shows that the situation is serious. We have to think seriously about the preservation of the environment. Cimpor must change the place where it keeps the limestone to somewhere else, because currently it is a danger to public health."
Participants at the rally called for the road from Dondo to Cheringoma, which passes through Muanza, to be paved. They also wanted the electricity grid to be further expanded. Taipo guaranteed that paving the road is one of the actions envisaged in the government's five year programme for 2015 - 2019.
Raysut Cement net profit falls 33% 14 July 2015
Oman: According to Reuters, Raysut Cement posted a 33% drop in its second-quarter net profit. It made US$12.8m in the second quarter of 2015 compared with US$19.1m in the same period of 2014. Raysut Cement reported a first-half post-tax profit of US$28.5m compared to US$40.5m in the same period of 2014.
Kazakhstan: According to Dow Jones, Steppe Cement said that it sold more cement, but at a lower price, in the first half of 2015 due to the unfavourable exchange rate between the Kazakhstan Tenge and the Russian Ruble. The company sold 717,654t of cement for US$44.4m in the first half of 2015, compared to 709,459t of cement for US$48.9m in the same period of 2014.
Cemex plans to invest US$6m to boost production 14 July 2015
Dominican Republic: According to Esmerk Latin American News, Cemex Dominicana plans to invest US$5.96m to expand the packaging and palletising capacity at its plant in San Pedro de Macoris. The investment includes a new cement packaging line that will increase its capacity by an additional 1.5m bags per month, reaching a capacity of 2.4Mt/yr. Cemex also intends to expand its cement milling capacity over the next few months and build a new facility for cement loading.
Europe: Following the successful completion of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge, LafargeHolcim has today started trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich with the ticker symbol LHN and on Euronext in Paris, joining the Swiss Market Index (SMI) and the CAC 40 index (replacing Lafarge SA) respectively. LafargeHolcm had a total market capitalisation of around Euro39.4bn on 13 July 2015. Representatives of LafargeHolcim's senior management will attend the start of trading ceremony in Paris.