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Sri Lanka: Insee Cement has broken ground on its construction of a 45,000m3-capacity storage facility at Hambantota International Port. When commissioned in early 2023, the facility will store ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) for use in Insee Cement's cement production. Daily News has reported the cost of the facility's construction as US$3m. At 17,300m2, the Hambantota storage facility will be the largest warehouse at any port in Sri Lanka.
Insee Cement chair and CEO Nandana Ekanayake said "Hambantota Port is a vital link in our raw materials supply chain. Insee Cement has been using this port since 2018 and so far we have cleared around 1.7Mt of bulk cargo through the port, of which we did a little over 1Mt in 2021. Today, we laid this foundation as another step to strengthen our partnership with Hambantota International Port Group." Ekanayake concluded "We see great potential in developing channels through Hambantota International Port and we will double our investment in the future."
India: JK Cement’s consolidated sales were US$272m in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year, up by 33% year-on-year from US$205m. The company sold 3.56Mt of cement, up by 18% from 3.02Mt in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year. Its costs per tonne rose to US$62.32/t from US$51.32/t. This restricted the group’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth to 0.1% year-on-year, at US$50.3m, compared to US$50.2m one year previously.
JK Cement forecast 10% year-on-year cement volumes growth in the 2023 financial year as a whole. It said that it expects to accelerate its rate of sales growth from September 2022. Its focus throughout the financial year will be on capturing new markets and increasing its blended cement share.
Brazil: The Administrative Court of the Brazilian Administrative Council of Economic Defence (CADE) has approved Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional subsidiary CSN Cimentos’ acquisition of LafargeHolcim Brasil, ‘without restrictions.’ The acquisition more than doubles CSN Cimentos’ capacity to 16.3Mt/yr, giving it the largest market share, ahead of InterCement Brasil.
Botswana: Cheetah Cement Botswana aims to achieve a cement production capacity of 900,000t/yr by June 2023. Cheetah Cement Botswana currently has a capacity of 36,000t/yr since commissioning its US$40m Francistown cement plant in February 2022. Botswana Investment and Trade Centre CEO Keletsositse Olebile said that the expansion will create 200 new direct jobs.
Xinhua News has reported that the move will turn Botswana, which consumes 620,000t/yr of cement, into a regional cement exporter and reduce its net imports by US$90m/yr.
Lafarge Emirates Cement to install waste heat recovery plant at Fujairah cement plant 18 August 2022
UAE: Lafarge Emirates Cement plans to install an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) waste heat recovery (WHR) plant at its Fujairah cement plant. Gulf News has reported that the producer will fund the upgrade through a transition trade facility provided by UK-based bank Standard Chartered. The facility is part of the bank’s planned US$300bn-worth of green finance funding up to 2030.
Lafarge Emirates Cement general manager Olivier Milhaud said “This is one of the major milestones in our journey towards sustainability. The WHR project encourages the use of clean and environmentally friendly energy in our operations and also supports our global mission to build a Net Zero world.”