Displaying items by tag: Plant
Egyptian investor takes legal action against Algerian authorities over two cement plant projects
24 August 2021Algeria: An Egypt-based investment company has initiated legal action against Algeria over issues relating to two cement plant projects. The Global Arbitration Review newspaper has reported that the company is seeking to claim US$900m in damages.
India: Holcim subsidiary Ambuja Cements has launched trial production at its new 3.0Mt/yr Marwar integrated cement plant in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district. The launch follows a total investment of US$316m in the plant’s construction. The plant is equipped with an additional 2.0Mt/yr of grinding of grinding capacity and a waste heat recovery (WHR) plant.
Managing director and chief executive officer Neeraj Akhoury said “It’s a proud moment for us at Ambuja Cements. Our endeavour shall always be to become a strong partner and a builder of progress for India."
Sri Lanka: Siam City Cement subsidiary Insee Cement says that it is operating at full capacity utilisation across its network, which includes a 3.6Mt/yr-integrated cement plant. The Daily News (Sri Lanka) newspaper has reported that the producer is responding to a shortage in the country due to the partial suspension of imports. It said that it has been able to do this thanks to the uninterrupted supply of raw materials by its parent company.
Chief executive officer Gustavo Navarro said, "Our consumers can be assured as always of full-capacity production and supply of Insee Cement to the market. We trust that we can curtail any unnecessary pressure on the Consumer Affairs Authority and government regulators who have been pressed for price hikes and hope to quell any disruptions to market supply across Sri Lanka."
Update on South America, August 2021
18 August 2021Our latest look at South America starts by posing the question: how far can the market in Brazil keep growing? As Graph 1 shows below, cement sales skyrocketed through the coronavirus pandemic, due to a general recovery locally that started in 2018 and relatively weak lockdown measures compared to other countries. Rolling annual totals on a monthly basis from the National Cement Industry Association (SNIC) suggest that this growth period tailed off from May 2021. SNIC was also keen to point out that, despite nearly hitting nearly a 20% growth rate at one point, the sector was still 11% behind where it was before the lull that lasted from 2015 to 2018. As ever the association has an eye on potential risks. At present these include legislative reforms, price inflation and carbon pricing. It noted that Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina all price carbon already but said that the country ‘has a great ally in the Brazilian cement industry’ on the issue.
Elsewhere the big story in Brazil has been the ongoing sale of Holcim’s local assets. The latest news at the start of August 2021 was that the bidders included CSN Cimentos, Cimentos Mizu, Cimento Apodi, InterCement and Votorantim. The first three companies were reportedly working in a consortium in an attempt to buy 10 production plants while InterCement and Votorantim were focusing on smaller bids to avoid the ire of the competition regulators. Aside from this, CSN Cimentos agreed to buy Cimento Elizabeth for US$220m in July 2021 and Companhia Nacional de Cimento (CNC), part of Italy-based Buzzi Unicem’s 50% subsidiary BCPAR, acquired CRH Brasil following approval by the regulators. Of note on the production side, Votorantim Cimentos started operation of a new production line at its Pecém grinding plant in Ceará in July 2021.
Graph 1: Cement sales in selected South American countries in first half of year, 2019 – 2021. Source: Local cement associations and national statistics offices.
Over in Peru the now familiar gap-tooth pattern of stunted growth in 2020 can be seen in the sector’s cement sales, but sales rebounded far stronger than comparable sized markets in Argentina and Colombia. Sales nearly doubled to 6.42Mt in the first half of 2021 from 3.33Mt in the same period in 2020 and were significantly higher than the 4.94Mt recorded in the first half of 2020. Imports are also worth watching. Combined cement and clinker importers nearly doubled from 0.76Mt in the first half of 2019 to 1.4Mt in the first half of 2021. Clinker imports made up about two thirds of this figure and the Association of Cement Producers (ASOCEM) noted in June 2021 that 88% of the imported cement came from Vietnam while about two thirds of the clinker came from Japan and Indonesia.
Away from the market data, both Cementos Pacasmayo’s and Unión Andina de Cementos’ (UNACEM) financial results bounced back in the first half of 2021. Cementos Pacasmayo attributed the rebound to sales of bagged cement to the self-construction sector and public sector reconstruction demand. UNACEM also noted the effect of the self-construction sector and said it expected its ‘solid’ cement despatches to continue for the rest of the year despite the risk of a third wave of coronavirus in the country and the messy presidential elections. Other stories of note so far in 2021 include new developments in Cementos Interoceanicos long-held plans to build a 1.0Mt/yr cement plant in Puno and a major upgrade planned to Yura’s integrated plant in Arequipa.
In Colombia local cement despatches grew by 34% year-on-year to 6.20Mt in the first half of 2021 from 4.61Mt in the same period in 2020. Cementos Argos reported major improvements in sales, sales volumes of cement and earnings due to the lockdown in 2020. However, a national wave of protests calling for social reform that started in the spring of 2012 forced the company to shut down its integrated Yumbo plant for over a month. This represented 18% of its national sales. The output of other plants in the country was also negatively affected by roadblocks created by the unrest. Cemex reported the same problems in the country.
Finally, Argentina’s cement despatches rose by 44% to 5.52Mt in the first half of 2021 from 3.83Mt in the same period in 2020. Loma Negra reported that its sales, sales volumes and earnings were all up by a similar rate. The subsidiary of Brazil-based InterCement started up the kiln on its new 2.7Mt/yr production line at the L’Amalí cement plant in Olavarría in June 2021 and commissioning of the new mill and despatch centre on the line were reportedly coming soon in early August 2021. Earlier in the year, in May 2021, Holcim Argentina inaugurated a new 0.5Mt/yr clinker production line at its Malagueño cement plant in Cordoba. These expansion projects were ordered long before coronavirus appeared so it will take a while to see their effects upon the local market. However, the government intervened in June 2021 when it persuaded some building materials producers to agree to reference prices in a bid to curb mounting inflation.
This is what recovery looks like so far in 2021 in the larger cement producing countries in South America. The Brazilian market’s growth phase may be waning after a furious period that even coronavirus wasn’t allowed to slow. Peru’s potential seems set to take off, Colombia’s rebound should have been greater (but it was dented by social unrest) and Argentina seems to be resetting to its usual level. Whatever else happens in the coming months the story to watch going forward will be which company picks up Holcim’s assets in Brazil.
Spain: Construction work has started on 6.2MW solar plant that will supply electricity to Cementos Cosmos’ Toral de los Vados integrated plant in León. Commissioning is scheduled by February 2022. The photovoltaic plant will include over 11,400 solar panels in an area of around 10 hectares. It will meet 15% of the plant’s electricity demands. Spain-based solar specialist EIDF (Energía, Innovación y Desarrollo Fotovoltaico) is supplying the unit at a previously reported cost of Euro4m.
Anonymous source tips off Spanish authorities about cave found at FYM quarry in Malaga
18 August 2021Spain: An anonymous source informed the Regional Government of Andalusia about the discovery of a cave with interesting geological features at a quarry run by FYM near its Malaga integrated cement plant. Photographs of the cave subsequently circulated on social media raising local awareness, according to El Español. The local government has commissioned a study to assess whether the site has any archaeological interest that might protect it however the condition of the site is reportedly poor. FYM, a subsidiary of Germany-based HeidelbergCement, has confirmed that activity in that part of the quarry has been ‘paralysed’ while it waits for the study to be completed.
Uzbekistan: The Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade (MIFT) says that an unnamed Singapore-based company is considering building an integrated cement plant in the country. The Uzbekistan National News Agency reports that investors from Singapore attended a meeting with Aziz Voitov, the First Deputy Minister of MIFT, and Adham Ikramov, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Cemix launches white cement plant in Russia
17 August 2021Russia: Cemix, a subsidiary of the Austrian firm Lasselsberger, has launched its new 0.24Mt white cement plant at Bashkiria, near Magnitogorsk in Chelyabinsk Oblast. President Vladimir Putin attended the ceremony. The building materials producer plans to distribute its products nationally from terminals at Lukhovitsy in Moscow Oblast and Afipsky in Krasnodar Krai. The company is a subsidiary of Austria-based Lasselsberger.
Saudi Arabia: Qassim Cement plans to build a new 10,000t/day production line at its Buraydah cement plant to replace some of the site’s existing lines. Construction will begin in the first half of 2022. The company will announce the cost of the project after completing preliminary studies.
Cemex to upgrade Rockfort cement plant in Jamaica
06 August 2021Jamaica: Cemex plans to upgrade its integrated Rockfort plant. The project will increase the unit’s production capacity by around 0.3Mt/yr. At present it has a capacity of 2Mt/yr. The expansion will introduce new grinding additives to the manufacturing process and further enhance the production of low clinker products in the region. The upgrade is planned for the second half of 2022. Cemex operates locally through its subsidiary, Caribbean Cement.
"At Caribbean Cement Company, we reiterate our commitment to the sustainable development of Jamaica's economy. With this investment, we will create jobs and promote the local industry in the country while minimising our carbon footprint," said Jesus Gonzalez, president of Cemex South, Central America and the Caribbean.