31 May 2016
Indonesia: Holcim Indonesia plans to focus its exports of cement towards Australia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2016 amidst unstable demand at home. Holcim Indonesia’s chief financial officer Mark Schmidt emphasised the company’s increasing desire to export more whilst not mentioning any specific export sales targets in comments that were reported by the Jakarta Post.
Gary Schutz, the president-director of Holcim Indonesia, reinforced the importance of government spending plants towards meeting the country’s cement demand in a press release published after the company’s May 2016 annual general meeting. “We are concerned that government spending plans – especially those for infrastructure – should be realised on time and in full this year. Infrastructure alongside housing development are both vital catalysts in achieving planned growth rates for the economy. It is equally important in order that Indonesia stays competitive with in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community.”
The Indonesian subsidiary of LafargeHolcim increased its cement production capacity to 15Mt/yr from 11Mt/yr after acquiring Lafarge Cement Indonesia and starting operations at the Tuban II plant in East Java.
Tanga Cement to start building new kiln 31 May 2016
Tanzania: Tanga Cement plans to build a new clinker kiln that will increase its clinker production capacity to 1.2Mt/yr from 0.5Mt/yr. The upgrade is expected to cost US$135m, according to East African Business Week.
“This additional capacity is expected to satisfy the consistent demand for cement from both the Tanzanian market and markets beyond the country's borders into the immediate future,” said Lawrence Masha, Tanga’s chairman of the board of directors, at the company’s annual general meeting.
India Cements promotes sulphate-resistant cement 31 May 2016
India: The India Cements Limited (ICL) has started promoting a new sulphate-resistant cement. The new product, Coromandel SRC, is a specialty-blended cement targeted for construction in aggressive environment such as a coastal areas. It will be manufactured at its Vishnupuram Plant in Telangana, according to the Hindu newspaper.
The new product is part of a business drive by the cement producer to improve its relationship with the distribution network. Other initiatives include extending technical support to its stockists and dealers in marketing new products. The company is also promoting Coromandel Duralite Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) blocks which are made from cement, fly ash, lime and alumina, an aeration agent.
India: Barak Valley Cements intends to expand its cement plant at Karimaganj, Assam. Its cement grinding plant at the site will be upgraded 1000t/day from 750t/day. Other improvements will also be made to its clinker production line without increasing its overall capacity.
Bolivia: Empresa Publica Productiva Cementos de Bolivia (ECEBOL) has reported that its cement plant project in Jeruyo, Caracollo is 35% complete. The state-run cement producer said that a Spanish-German consortium formed by Imasa, Polysius and Valoriza commenced civil works and installation of machinery in May 2015.
The project has an investment of US$306m. Testing is scheduled to start in late 2017 followed by final delivery of the plant in September 2018. The plant will have a cement production capacity of 1.3Mt/yr. Upon full operation the plant is expected to create 500 direct and 2000 indirect jobs.