Egypt: Suez Cement plans to spend US$77m to convert its Helwan and Torah cement plants to use coal and refuse derived fuel (RDF), according to local media. The Kattameya and Suez cement plants were converted in 2015.
The company intends to start the conversion process in February 2016 at Helwan and July 2016 at Torah. The upgrade is expected to take 12 - 18 months. Subsequently both plants would use 70% coal for their energy. Helwan Cement will supplement this with 20 – 25% RDF and 5% natural gas. Torah Cement will use 30% heavy fuel oil. These conversions are expected to reduce the company's operating costs.