25 September 2017
Cementos Avellaneda to spend US$230m on upgrade to plants in Argentina 25 September 2017
Argentina: Cementos Avellaneda plans to spend US$230m towards upgrading its La Calera and Olavarría cement plants. The company is a joint venture between Spain's Cementos Molins and Brazil’s Votorantim. US$200m will be used to increase the production capacity of the La Calera plant in San Luis to 1Mt/yr from 0.7Mt/yr by the second half of 2019. US$30m has been targeted to increase the Olavarría plant’s capacity by 0.3Mt/yr. Commissioning is planned for the end of 2017.
Cement importer says Philippines faces shortages to 2020 25 September 2017
Philippines: A gap between local production and demand is expected to lead to a deficit in cement for the next three to four years to 2020. Napoleon Co, president and owner of cement importer Cebu Oversea Hardware, told the Manila Bulletin newspaper that imports from China and other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should be able to address the shortfall until new production capacity is built. Co added that the country imported 6Mt of cement in 2016 mainly from China and Vietnam. Similar or higher volumes of imports are expected in 2017.
Cement importers have been lobbying the Department of Trade and Industry to allow pre-shipment inspection and certification of cement. However, local cement producers have opposed the change.
Hydroelectric projects in Nepal becalmed by cement shortage 25 September 2017
Nepal: The Nepal Electricity Authority and the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal say that the new hydroelectric projects are stalling due to a lack of imported cement. The shortage has been caused by new standards set by the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) for imported cement, according to the Himalayan Times. The NBSM made Nepal Standard certification mandatory for imported cement in July 2017. Foreign producers supplying cement to Nepal, principally from India, have to follow quality, packaging and labelling criteria fixed by the NBSM.
Jaypee Cement and Star Cement have received approval from the NBSM to supply cement to the country following the new standard. Three more Indian cement producers have also submitted applications.
Lafarge France to upgrade mill at Havre-Saint-Vigor cement plant 25 September 2017
France: Lafarge France plans to spend Euro14.5m towards upgrading its Havre-Saint-Vigor cement plant. Euro8m will be spent on upgrading the plant’s mill and modernising its dock. The remainder will be spent on changes to the quarry including a new crane and wharf. The quarry at the site will be used to process construction waste from the Greater Paris area.
Cherat Cement orders engines from Wärtsilä 25 September 2017
Pakistan: Cherat Cement has contracted Finland’s Wärtsilä to increase its power output at its Nowshera plant. It has ordered three Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines capable of operating on both natural gas and heavy fuel oil (HFO). The total electrical output will be approximately 29MW. Wärtsilä will also provide advisors to oversee the installation and commissioning of the engines.
“We need to enlarge our facilities and this we must to do quickly on a tight schedule. Wärtsilä has supported this timetable by agreeing to deliver their generating sets on a very short timetable…” said Azam Faruque, chief executive officer of Cherat Cement. The Nowshera cement plant is also powered by Wärtsilä equipment, consisting of four Wärtsilä 32 engines.
The new generators are scheduled for delivery in March 2018 and the plant is expected to be fully operational by June 2018.