Philippines: Holcim Philippines has announced that it may delay the construction of a proposed US$550m 2.5Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Bulacan province that was due for commissioning in 2016.

The announcement was made due to the impending economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2015. Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, will eliminate tariff rates on goods to facilitate free flow of commodities under the Asean Free Trade Area.

"We have to plan as a region because the region is consolidating," said Eduardo Sahagun, Holcim Philippines chief executive, adding that Vietnam and Indonesia both possess excess capacity. Holcim Philippines made several investments in 2013 to boost supply, including plant upgrades in La Union and Misamis Oriental provinces and the revival of a grinding facility in Mabini, Batangas, which will be operational by the third quarter of 2014.

Sahagun said that the company's outlook on cement demand in the country remained positive. "The growth scenario is the same but where the supply will come from will change," Sahagun said.