18 June 2019

Egypt: Tourah Cement says it has stopped production due to a financial crisis caused by oversupply in the local market. Jose Maria Magrina, the managing director of Tourah Cement, told employees in mid-June 2019 that production would be stopped temporarily as it couldn’t cover its costs, according to Mist News. Estimated national cement consumption is 50Mt/yr but total production capcaity is 85Mt/yr.

In a statement the subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement said that new plants had forced producers to lower prices below the cost of production. It has also blamed higher fuel prices due to a cut in government subsidies.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement plans to open terminals at Lagos and Port Harcourt to export clinker to its grinding plants in West Africa. Chairman Aliko Dangote made the announcement at the company’s annual general meeting, according to the Punch newspaper. At present it exports 1Mt/yr, although it could export up to 8Mt/yr to generate up to US$700m in revenue. Group chief executive officer (CEO) Joseph Makoju it is a ‘major priority’ for Dangote Cement to replace non-African imports in Cameroon, increase foreign revenue and raise the capacity utilisation of its Nigerian plants.

Vietnam: Cement producers including Vissai Cement and the Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) have reported difficulties in buying coal domestically. Hoang Manh Truong, the chairman of Vissai Cement, said that the company mostly used imported coal in 2018 and this experience has been mirrored by VICEM, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. The situation has been blamed on a sharp rise in local demand due to new cement plants and no new coal mines.

Paraguay: Cartes Group has been fined US$79,500 for cutting down trees near San Lazaro, Concepción where it is planning to build a new cement plant. It will also have to pay US$1.8m towards gaining environmental certificates for the project, according to the ABC Color newspaper. Cartes Group purchased Calera Risso, the company planning to build the new unit, in late 2018.

Environmental studies at the site have also noted caves that should be protected including the Risso Cavern, where a fossil of a giant sloth was found in 2012. The Paraguayan Federation of Speleology has asked the the Ministry of Environmetnal and Sustainablity (MADES) to safeguard the site that also holds microfossils dating back 550m years.

The Cementos Concepción plant project was announced in early 2019. It intends to build a 1Mt/yr cement plant by 2021 with an investment of US$180m.