Displaying items by tag: Pakistan
Silo collapses at Fauji Cement plant in Pakistan
01 June 2016Pakistan: A raw meal silo has collapsed at the Fauji Cement Company plant at Tehsil Fateh Jang, Punjab. The structure containing 25,000t of raw material collapsed on 29 May 2016 also causing damage to the coal mill area of second production line. The company reported no casualties.
Fauji Cement has shutdown its 7200t/day second production line following the incident. It expects that the line will remain closed for approximately five to six months. However, dispatches out of stock will continue as the plant’s cement mills are operating normally. The plant’s 3700t/day first production line is currently undergoing planned maintenance and will resume production soon.
The cement plant’s second production line was completed and started in 2011.
Pakistan: Cement sales are up in Pakistan, with All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association Chairman Muhammad Ali Tabba claiming that the sector is using 95% of its installed capacity. He said that strong export growth in March 2016 was ‘very encouraging’ and had been major factor behind the increased sales. Tabba highlighted new capacity being brought on by DG Khan, Lucky Cement, Cherat Cement and Attock Cement as indicative of the sector’s confidence in the Pakistani economy
Despite this, the sector remains accused of forming a cartel to keep cement prices high. Tabba rebuffed the claims, saying, “The industry is neither managing despatches nor the prices and is operating on the principles of free market economy.”
All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association say production capacity plans to grow by 10Mt by 2018
13 April 2016Pakistan: The Pakistan cement industry plans to invest up to US$1bn towards production capacity growth of 10Mt/yr by 2018. The growth will be targeted at the growing real estate market and expected China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects said Mohammad Ali Tabba, chairman of the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) in comments to the Business Recorder.
"Four companies have already announced their plans in this regard. Cherat Cement is going to do it from next year, and then Attock Cement, DG Khan Cement and Lucky Cement will materialise their plans," said Tabba.
He added that at present the country has a production capacity of 46Mt/yr, a demand of 38Mt/yr and a capacity utilisation rate of 80 – 85%. His argument for cement industry growth rests on the industry hitting this capacity utilisation rate. The last time a significant increase in industry capacity was made was in 2005 -2006 when it was increased from 17.9Mt/yr to 42.3Mt/yr in 2008 – 2009.
Pakistan cement despatches hit high in March 2016
07 April 2016Pakistan: The Pakistan cement industry has recorded its highest ever dispatches of 3.58Mt in March 2016, an increase of 19% year-on-year from 3Mt in March 2015. Exports have grown by 21% to 0.53Mt from 0.44Mt in March 2016. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) described the growth as ‘encouraging’ as it enabled the industry to hit a capacity utilisation rate of 95%. However, despite this high rate the APCMA added that it was still being accused of price fixing, according to local press.
For the nine months from July 2015 to March 2016 overall cement despatches rose by 9.95% year-on-year to 28.3Mt. Local despatches in the north and south of the country have both shown growth respectively. However, exports fell by 19% to 4.41Mt from 5.44Mt. The year so far has been poor for exports, only picking up growth from February 2016 onwards.
Pakistan to export cement from Iran to East Asia
30 March 2016Iran/Pakistan: An Iranian cement producer has revealed plans that Pakistan will help Iran export cement to East Asian countries. Morteza Lotfi, head of the Fars & Khuzestan Cement Company, has said that Iran will supply cement to Pakistan and in return Pakistan will export the same amount of cement to its neighbouring countries under Iran’s name, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) has reported.
Lotfi said that Pakistan has the infrastructure to export cement to its neighbours but it doesn’t produce enough cement to meet its domestic consumption. Therefore the two countries agreed on a cement swap. He added that Iran’s annual capacity for producing cement is about 80Mt/yr. Pakistan produces about 40Mt/yr. According to the agreement, Iran will also launch a clinker grinding unit in Pakistan.
Twenty-four countries, including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Oman, India and China are among the main buyers of Iran’s cement. Tehran exported 19Mt of cement and clinker in 2014.
Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has led demands that the government abolish the gas infrastructure development cess (tax) (GIDC) because it has made Pakistan-produced cement uncompetitive for export. APCMA chairman Mohammad Ali Tabba said that declining fuel prices, including liquefied natural gas in the international markets, had added to the situation, according to local press.
The Pakistan government enacted the Gas Infrastructural Development Act of 2011 thereby charging a cess or levy on all non-domestic gas consumers. However, the tax has been resisted legally since that time with tussles over whether back taxes should be collected or not.
Tabba also added that a recent increase on the import duty from 1% to 6% on coal should be reduced to zero.
South Africa: The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has confirmed to Pretoria News that Longkou Fanlin Cement had been approved for sale in the country. However, the mandate is only part of the process the Chinese cement producer needs to secure to allow it to import cement into the country.
Thato Chabeli, the interim group manager of marketing, public relations and communications at SAB, confirmed to local press that ‘two schemes’ for Longkou Fanlin Cement had been approved by the SABS. He added that the trade body had not received any other applications from Chinese cement producers. The SABS certifies cement as being compliant with the South African compulsory specification before it can be sold in the domestic market. However, Chabeli, added that the Chinese cement producer also needed to secure a letter of approval from the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) before the company would be permitted to export its cement to South Africa. The NRCS has not responded to queries by local press on the matter.
Industry commentators have compared potential cement imports from China to those of Pakistan. Local cement producers filed a dumping complaint with the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) about cement imported into South Africa from Pakistan. ITAC made a final determination in December 2015 on the anti-dumping duties and imposed duties ranging between 14.29 - 77.15% on cement imported from Pakistan. Subsequently, cement imports to South African from Pakistan fell by 30% year-on-year. The Pakistan government has since approach the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for arbitration on the dispute.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency defers approval for tyre-derived fuel plant at Bestway Cement
29 February 2016Pakistan: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deferred the approval for setting up a tyre-derived fuel (TDF) plant at the Bestway Cement plant in Farooqia. The decision has been left by the EPA to consent from the local community, according to local press.
EPA Director General Dr Bashir Khan said at a public meeting that unless local residents were satisfied, Bestway Cement would not be issued a no-objection certificate. Residents have cited dust, smoke, noise and water pollution as reasons to object against the proposed plant. Qamar Hayat, a local activist, said that locals would allow the EPA to approve the TDF plant when they were guaranteed pollution would be monitored and that health hazards and property losses would be checked.
Lucky Cement reports US$60m net profit for second half of 2015
23 February 2016Pakistan: Lucky Cement has reported a 11.7% year-on-year rise in its net profit to US$60m in the half-year that finished on 31 December 2015. Its net sales revenue rose by 2% year-on-year to US$209m from US$204m. It attributed the rise to an increase in sales volumes.
Local sales volumes for the company for the period increased by 19.7% to 2.42Mt from 2.02Mt. However, export sales volumes fell by 27% to 0.9Mt from 1.23Mt.
Lucky Cement has also decided to set up another 10MW waste heat recovery (WHR) plant at its Pezu Plant, which is expected to be completed by December 2016. The company additionally reported on progress at other projects, including an integrated cement plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a 660MW coal-based power project, a 50MW wind farm and an electricity supply to Pesco and a WHR unit at the Pezu power plant.
Bestway Cement profit rises by 47% to US$54.4m in first half
19 February 2016Pakistan: Bestway Cement has reported that its profit after tax has risen by 47% year-on-year to US$54.4m from July to December 2015 from US$372m in the same period in 2014. Its revenue rose by 45.5% to US$201m from US$138m. It attributed the growth to the acquisition of Pakcem, an increase in domestic demand and stable prices during the period.
Domestic sales volumes for the company increased by 47% to 3.1Mt from 2.1Mt. It reported that overall dispatches by the Pakistan cement industry increased by 6.3% to 18.2Mt from 17.1Mt. Overall exports dropped by 26% to 3Mt from 4.1Mt. Bestway reported that it maintained its market share in the north of Pakistan and retained its position as the largest exporter of cement to Afghanistan and India, despite fierce competition.
Work on Bestway Cement’s 12MW waste heat recovery plant at Pakcem Kallar Kahar progressed during the period. The upgrade project is expected to cost US$15m.