12 July 2019

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has completed the upgrade to its integrated cement plant at Davao. The expansion involved the activation of a finish mill and installation of a new pipe for loading cement to the silos from the pier, eco-hoppers to improve dust emissions and an overhead crane. Cold commissioning started in April 2019 while full production began in late June 2019. The improvements add 0.7Mt/yr to the cement production of the plant.

The expansion of the Davao plant is part of the company’s on-going program to improve operations to better support the positive growth of Mindanao. In March 2019, the company launched in a new blended cement product, Solido. It also opened its first construction laboratory outside Metro Manila at Davao in 2018. Holcim Philippines will hold a ceremony in August 2019 to inaugurate the facilities with partners from the public and private sector.

Philippines: The Philippine Competition Commission says that its investigation on alleged violations of competitive practice by the cement industry will be kept separate from a review of the acquisition of Holcim Philippines by San Miguel Corporation. The commission made the statement in a reply to questions raised by consumer group Laban ng Konsyumer, according to the Manila Bulletin newspaper. However, the commission’s Mergers and Acquisitions Office said that, although both cases are being considered independently, this would not preclude them from considering the pre-merger activities of the companies.

Azerbaijan: Turkey’s Dal Teknik Makina is set to start work on an upgrade project at Akkord Cement’s integrated plant at Gazakh. It will increase the clinker production capacity to 3300t/day from 2500t/day. The supply of equipment is expected to be completed in six months and the shutdown period is planning to be five weeks. No value for the order has been disclosed.

The first phase of the upgrade project will be the retrofit of the raw mill unit. A static drying separator will be placed in front of the raw mill to dry clay and some of limestone. Equipment to be replaced in the raw mill unit include a dynamic separator, ball charge modification, all parts of separator cyclones and the raw mill fan. The raw mill grinding capacity will be upgraded by drying the raw materials and enhancing the separation efficiency.

The next phase will consist of replacing the raw mill/kiln bag filter and filter fan to reach the desired upgraded capacity. Finally, the pyro-processing system unit will be modified. In order to reach the target production capacity the equipment to be changed will be the first four stage cyclones with the modification of the calciner-TAD connection and new splash boxes will be installed.

Taiwan: The Taipei High Administrative Court has repealed Asia Cement’s right to operate a cement quarry located in the Taroko National Park. This decision upheld an appeal from Taroko residents and overrules a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) decision to grant a 20-year extension of mining rights, according to the Taiwan News newspaper. Asia Cement’s previous mining concession expired in late 2017 and the Bureau of Mines, MOEA originally extended it until 2037.

Nigeria: Oyebamiji Dauda, the chairman of the Lagos State Bricklayers’ Association, has urged the government to cut the price of cement. He wants it to make cement manufacturing more competitive by allowing more producers to operate in the market, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. He added that the ‘high’ cost of cement was negatively affecting building construction. Dauda’s ideas to ease the price of cement include government subsidy, tax breaks for local producers of building materials and further penalties for imported products.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Data from the Central Bank of the Congo shows that cement production more than doubled to 1.84Mt in 2018 from 0.90Mt in 2017. Consumption showed a similar trend rising to 1.83Mt from 0.88Mt. Production during the first quarter of 2019 grew by 13% year-on-year to 0.30Mt. The growth in production and consumption has been attributed to new plants, a ban on imports and a strong housing market in Kinshasa.