01 October 2021
Udaipur Cement Works to establish new 4.2MW solar power plant 01 October 2021
India: Udaipur Cement Work plans to increase its reliance on renewable power with the installation of a new 4.15MW solar power plant at its cement plant in Udaipur, Rajasthan. When operational, the installation will increase the Udaipur plant’s solar power capacity by 42% to 14.3MW. The producer says that its entire solar power apparatus will facilitate a reduction in CO2 emissions of 14,000t/yr. In the 2020 and 2021 financial years, the producer consumed 13,000MWh of solar power, reducing CO2 emissions by 10,000t.
Vietnam’s nine-month cement sales rise slightly in 2021 01 October 2021
Vietnam: Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) members sold 77.5Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2021, up by 3.5% year-on-year. Vietnamese cement exports rose by 19% over the same period, to 31.9Mt. This corresponds to 41% of total sales. State-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) exported 14.5Mt of cement, 45% of national cement exports. Viet Nam News has reported that the country ended the nine-month period with 3.6Mt of cement and clinker in inventory.
Spain’s eight-month cement consumption grows in 2021 01 October 2021
Spain: Consumption of cement in the first eight months of 2021 was 9.58Mt nationally, up by 13% year-on-year from 8.48Mt in the first eight months of 2020. The Spanish Cement Industry Association (Oficemen) says that consumption remains 2% below pre-Covid-19 outbreak levels in the corresponding period of 2019. The El Economista newspaper has reported that the association has forecast full-year cement consumption of 14.6Mt in 2020, slightly below the full-year 2019 figure of 14.7Mt.
President José Cascajero said "These levels put us on the path to have a growth in future years that is hopeful. The recovery of infrastructure, which has returned to being the primary source of demand, and residential building, has allowed both consumption and expectations to be substantially improved since April 2021.”
In 2022, he forecast year-on-year demand growth of 3 - 5%, due in part to the positive impacts of the EU post-Covid-19 outbreak recovery fund. Cascajero warned of the increasing burden of rising electricity prices and CO2 emissions fees and called for ‘structural reforms’ to mitigate their drag on growth.
Ciments Calcia to relocate headquarters in early 2022 01 October 2021
France: Ciments Calcia says that it will move into its new headquarters in La Défense, Hauts-de-Seine department, in early 2022. The Les Echos newspaper has reported that the Covid-19 pandemic previously delayed the move, which the company announced in late 2019. It will leave ‘part of its services’ at its existing Guerville, Yvelines department. Some staff will work at the new headquarters ‘two or three days a week’ due to the benefits of remote working.
Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has received approval for the issuance and offering of debentures up to US$2.97bn in its subsidiary SCG Chemicals. Reuters News has reported that the group is offering the shares under a medium-term note programme.