24 December 2018

US: Aggregate Industries, a US subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, has secured the contract to provide concrete for the US$2bn Minneapolis-area Southwest Light Rail Transit (LRT) extension of the Metro Green Line. The new line will run 14.5 miles from downtown Minneapolis to the suburb of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and require construction of 16 new stations, plus the rail infrastructure itself. The project will require an estimated 0.30Mm³ of ready-mix concrete. It includes the construction of 44 structures, 29 new bridges, two cut and cover tunnels, six pedestrian tunnels, 15 at-grade crossings, 110 retaining walls and over 45,000m of track.

Philippines: The Philippine Cement Importers Association (PCIA) has warned of a slowdown in the construction sector due to an investigation in tariffs started by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in September 2018. The association says that several importers are ‘wary’ and have stopped imports, according to Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper. Napoleon Co, president of the PCIA, said that although local cement producers have started building new plants it will take three or four years for these to start production. In the meantime, he argued, importers are required to meet market demand. He added that import tariffs on cement would also add costs to end consumers.

India: Germany’s Gebr. Pfeiffer has hosted a customer event for the Indian cement industry at Gurugram near New Delhi. The two-day event in late November 2018 consisted of specialist talks on mineral processing. The equipment producer covered 3D system design, optimising grinding processes, after sales service strategies and other industrial sectors that intersect with the cement industry.