Displaying items by tag: Plant
Dangote build stalls in Cameroon
16 March 2012Cameroon: Construction of a US$109m Dangote cement plant in Duoala has been halted following an order from the Douala City Council (DCC), raising fears that the 18-month timeline for the construction of the plant may not be met.
DCC delegate Fritz Ntone Ntone halted work on the site following complaints from Ngondo cultural officials. He explained that part of the site allocated for the plant belongs to the DCC and will be used for the construction of an urban park. He added that much of the site is traditionally used as land for the Ngondo cultural celebrations. During the Ngondo General Assembly on 10 March 2012 Sawa Chiefs resolved not to release the land for any reason.
In September 2011 an agreement was signed between the Cameroonian government and Dangote, which authorised the construction of a US$109m cement plant in Douala with a capacity of 1Mt/yr along the shorelines of the River Wouri. The disputed land was contracted from the government through a lease of 30 years. On 13 March 2012 a Dangote delegation from Nigeria announced that the company was ready to renegotiate in order to keep the venture going.
Demand for cement in Cameroon is currently rising rapidly, increasing by 8% in 2011. According to government data the country imported at least 0.5Mt in 2010 but demand is estimated at 4Mt/yr. In addition to Dangote two companies from Korea have also signed investment agreements with the government.
Anhui Conch plans US$400m plant for South Kalimantan
15 March 2012Indonesia: Chinese cement giant Anhui Conch Cement plans to begin construction of a plant in South Kalimantan later in 2012, with an anticipated investment of US$400m.
"The planned plant in South Kalimantan will be able to produce 2.5Mt/yr," announced Industry Minister MS Hidayat as he met with a business delegation from China's Anhui province at the ministry's office. The output will be used for domestic purposes.
Anhui Conch Cement is currently awaiting the completion of its land acquisition process and a license to be issued by the South Kalimantan administration so that the plant can be built in Tanjung, Tabalong. The plant will be equipped with a cement-grinding plant, a seaport, a 60MW power plant and other supporting infrastructure.
Hidayat added that Anhui Conch Cement is also preparing to acquire land in Manokwari, West Papua, in 2013 for another cement plant that would require US$400m. It is expected to meet cement demands in the surrounding areas.
Semen Gresik to build plant in Myanmar
14 March 2012Myanmar: Indonesian giant Semen Gresik has announced plans to build a cement factory in Myanmar with a production capacity of up to 2.5Mt/yr. The project is estimated to cost US$500m according to Ahyanizzaman, the finance director of Semen Gresik.
PT Semen Gresik is one of four state companies asked by the government under Indonesia Incorporated to expand its operations to Myanmar. Ahyanizzaman added that Semen Gresik chose to expand to Myanmar as demand for cement in that country is strong with supplies falling well short of demand. Cement demand in Myanmar is approximately 8Mt/yr compared to a current domestic production of 4Mt/yr.
The three other state companies asked to expand their operations to Myanmar include oil and gas company PT Pertamina, construction company Wijaya Karya and Bank Negara Indonesia.
Carolinas Cement clears hurdle for new plant
13 March 2012US: Officials from Carolinas Cement Company have announced that the Division of Air Quality of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has issued an air quality permit to parent company Titan America LLC to construct a cement plant in Castle Hayne. The issuance comes after four years of technical review of the proposed facility to ensure it will comply with North Carolina's air quality regulations and standards.
The permit was issued after extensive evaluation by DENR, including using air models that incorporate government-approved local meteorological, topographic and site-specific information. The models calculate the concentrations of regulated emissions at the boundaries of the plant property and ambient concentrations throughout the local region and other designated locations to assure they are below legal limits.
"These laws and regulations governing industrial emissions are among the strictest in the world," said Dan Crowley, Titan America's VP of Corporate Engineering. "The issuance of our air quality permit is only a first step. After the plant begins operating we will be subject to unannounced audits by State and Federal regulators as well as internal compliance audits to ensure our emissions are consistently within permitted limits." Carolinas Cement will meet all the new Environmental Protection Agency federal regulations for Portland cement plants that were finalised in 2010, and these regulations are fully represented in the Department of Air Quality permit.
Now that the air quality permit has been issued, Carolinas Cement plans to proceed with completing the federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) needed to obtain necessary wetlands permits. The EIS is an 18-24 month process led by the US Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and it requires Carolinas Cement to hire an independent third party to conduct studies of potential impact to numerous ecological and social factors, such as water, aquifers, traffic and flora and fauna.
Parallel to the COE permitting process, Titan America will begin a two-year process to design and engineer the new plant. The design process could not begin prior to the issuance of the air permit, as the design must correspond to the exact standards outlined by the air permit. The new plant will pioneer the industry's most advanced emission control technologies to ensure that public health, the aquifers, Cape Fear River and Island Creek are protected throughout every step of this process.
When it clears all of the regulatory hurdles, Carolinas Cement will create 161 permanent, full-time jobs. During construction it will create 1000 temporary jobs over two-years.
Lafarge plans blocked by French High Court
12 March 2012France: The French High Court has decided to block Lafarge's project to close its plant in Frangey, northern France, until 25 November 2012. The Frangey facility employs 74 workers and had previously been slated for closure in 2012.
The planned closure is part of a much larger restructuring plan at the building materials' giant, which was also annulled by the High Court. However, the court said that the fundamental economic case behind closing the Frangey plant was valid. The group had explained that its decision to shut down the plant was due to overcapacity and high production costs.
The management of Lafarge will now propose a new restructuring plan to the staff representatives starting from November 2012.
ACC to implement massive upgrade at Jamul
08 March 2012India: ACC Limited has announced plans to set up a new clinker production facility at Jamul in Chhattisgarh, replacing its existing line at the plant. Currently the plant can produce 1.6Mt/yr of cement. The expansion will see this figure rise to 5Mt/yr by mid-2015. The existing line will be phased out as the new one is commissioned.
Along with the announcement, ACC also said that it is planning to set up decentralised grinding stations, which will use clinker produced at Jamul. These will be implemented in a phased manner and are scheduled for completion by March 2015.
At the same time, ACC will also increase its existing grinding capacity at its Sindri plant in Jharkhand. Another new grinding plant is currently being built at Kharagpur in West Bengal. Both installations will source clinker from the new Jamul plant.
The overall capacity of ACC will increase to 35Mt/yr when all these projects are completed, helping the company to meet the demand for cement in the east of India.
Brazil: Cement manufacturer Holcim, which already operates cement plants in Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, is considering a new plant or joint-venture with a company already established in the Brazilian cement market. The group has untouched limestone reserves in the south, mid-west and the north east regions to offer any potential collaborator.
Holcim President Otmar Hübscher said that the company has been looking at possible locations and wants to focus Holcim to meet the growing cement demand in Brazil, where it is currently operating at its 5.3Mt/yr capacity. The company has already announced an US$800m expansion of its plant in Barroso, Minas Gerais. It is presently waiting for environmental clearance for the project, which will see that plant increase its capacity from 1.2Mt/yr to 3.5Mt/yr by 2014.
Siam Cement targets Indonesia for major investment
05 March 2012Indonesia: Thailand's Siam Cement Group (SCG) has revealed plans to build a new cement plant in Indonesia to capitalise on the country's rapidly-growing demand for construction materials. Kan Trakulhoon, president and chief executive officer of SCG, said that the company would invest US$300m in a cement plant in Sukabumi, West Java. The plant will have a capacity of 5000t/day and construction is expected to start by the end of 2012.
The investment comes after SCG bought a 100% stake valued at US$135m in Boral Indonesia, a company that produces ready-mixed concrete, from Australia-based Boral in February 2012. Kan said that SCG's growth lies outside of Thailand and that Indonesia is a big part of that.
The SCG chief, who has previously lived and worked in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, said that he had been impressed with Indonesia's improvement during the past few years. "During the last four to five years, the growth was very good. SCG has a lot of confidence in Indonesia," he said. Kan said he that he was not afraid of competition with Indonesia's more established cement makers as SCG had already acquired supporting companies such as Kokoh Inti Arebama, an Indonesian construction-material distributor.
Semen Gresik, Indonesia's largest cement producer, and other cement makers plan to invest a total of US$6.27bn during the next three years to boost production. The investment is expected to produce an additional 30Mt/yr of cement in the country, with annual output reaching 90Mt/yr in 2017 from 52Mt in 2011. Chaovalit Ekabut, SCG's chief financial officer, added that demand for SCG's products remained high in Indonesia.
Looking ahead, Kan said that in the next five years, the company would invest US$5bn in its ASEAN-country operations. In 2012 it will spend US$1.3-1.5bn in various regional investments, but Kan did not disclose how much the company has set aside for Indonesia.
Ash Grove files request to close Midlothian wet kilns
29 February 2012US: Ash Grove Cement Company has reportedly filed a permit amendment with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) seeking to close two of its three cement kilns in Midlothian, Texas. A local environmental pressure group, Downwinders at Risk, reported that it would convert the third kiln to dry production.
Ash Grove said that it was 'premature' to talk about the permit because the decision was not final. Downwinders' director Jim Schermbeck said that he expects the state agency to approve the change."They're going to reduce emissions. TCEQ will let them do that," Schermbeck said.
US cement kiln operators face a 2013 deadline to meet new emission standards from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The proposed changes would take production down by 20% at the site to around 0.95Mt/yr.
Smooth test completed at Lafarge/Strabag plant
29 February 2012Hungary: Lafarge and Strabag have successfully finished a test run at a Euro250m cement plant that they have jointly completed near Kiralyegyhaza in south west Hungary, according to Lafarge Cement Magyarorszag managing director Frederic Aubet. Mr Aubet said the test run results show the plant to be one of the most environmentally friendly in Europe.
The plant, which will turn out 0.75Mt/yr of clinker and 1Mt/yr of cement, will be fully commissioned by 2015.