31 August 2021

Nepal: Huaxin Cement Narayani has completed construction of its 3000t/day Dhading cement plant in Bagmati and plans to commence production before November 2021. The Xinhua News Agency has reported that construction of plant, a joint venture of Vaidya’s Organisation of Industries and Trading Houses and China-based Huaxin Cement subsidiary Huaxin Central Asia Investment (Wuhan), started in early 2019 but was delayed by floods, disputes over land acquisition and the coronavirus pandemic. It is Nepal’s second cement plant backed by Chinese investors following the opening of Hongshi-Shivam Cement in 2018. In 2020, the country produced 7.49Mt of cement, towards serving a demand of 9.05Mt/yr nationally.

India: Dalmia Cement has signed three memoranda of understanding with the state government of Jharkhand. The memoranda provide that the Dalmia Bharat subsidiary will invest US$104m in expanding its cement operations in the state. The producer’s plans consist of a US$68.5m upgrade and capacity expansion to its Bokaro cement grinding plant. The project will increase the existing production line’s capacity to 3.7Mt/yr and add a new grinding line, bringing the total plant’s capacity to 6.3Mt/yr. In addition the cement producer will spend US$34m towards building a solar power plant and the remainder will be spent on setting up a waste management facility.

Belgium: Holcim Belgium is hosting a public meeting as a preliminary step towards applying for a permit to install a new kiln line at its Obourg cement plant in Mons. The line is intended to replace the existing kiln line as it reaches the end of its operational life. The subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim has called the proposed project Go4Zero. The new kiln will be designed to concentrate CO₂ emissions to allow for capture and recovery. Limestone for the plant will be extracted from a quarry at Tournaisis and transported to the plant by railway.

Australia: A South Australian court has found former Adbri (formerly called Adelaide Brighton) accounts manager Glenda Burgess guilty of nine counts of deception and nine counts of dishonest dealing between 2009 and 2017. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that Burgess increased AdBri’s customer Concrete Supply’s credit limits, concealed its debts and created ‘large’ manual entries in her employer’s accounts to benefit it. The company only paid around US$14.5m for cement worth US$23m during the period under investigation. However, the prosecution said that Concrete Supply was not complicit in the alleged crime. Sentencing for the case is due to take place later in 2021.

Myanmar: An outbreak of Covid-19 in Panglaung township, where 57 new cases have been recorded since late August 2021, allegedly originated at a cement plant. The Shan Herald Agency has reported that the Nagar cement plant in Si Kip, Shan state was allegedly flouting Covid-19 safety regulations. 21 employees of the plant have tested positive in the latest outbreak of the virus.