Displaying items by tag: Capacity

Guatemala: Cemex Latam Holdings plans to invest US$25m in installing a new mill at its 500,000t/yr Guatemala City grinding plant. The company says that the mill will increase the plant’s capacity by 80% to 900,000t/yr.

Cemex South America, Central America and Caribbean president Jesus Gonzalez said "This investment reinforces Cemex's commitment to Guatemala's development and reflects our confidence in the favourable outlook of the economy in the country and the region." Gonzalez added “We are excited about expanding our offer of products and solutions to the market which contribute to sustainable construction, like Vertua, our family of net-zero and low carbon products."

Oman: Oman Cement plans to upgrade its 4.2Mt/yr Rusayl cement plant. Reuters News has reported that the producers’ plans consist of a 25% capacity expansion of Line 3 of the plant to 5000t/day from 4000t/day and the construction of a new 10,000t/day Line 4. Lines 1 and 2 will subsequently shut down. Thus, the upgrade will increase the plant’s nominal clinker capacity to 15,000t/day from 8700t/day.

Jamaica: Caribbean Cement says that it will export an additional 200,000t/yr of cement after it completes the 40% capacity expansion of its 1.0Mt/yr Rockfort cement plant to 1.4Mt/yr. In 2020, the producer exported 1580t of cement, all to North America, at a total value of US$156,000.

CBR News has reported that general manager Yago Castro said “We believe the right way is to invest in local manufacturing and make it bigger, solid and more powerful. This is why we’ve been increasing our production capacity over the past three to four years. Our team is always working on improving the supply to the market, quality of our products and service.”

The Jamaica Observer newspaper reported on 5 September 2021 that regular three-day lockdowns begun in Jamaica in August 2021 to stem the spread of Covid-19 have slowed Caribbean Cement’s distribution.

South Africa: PPC is operating at 75 - 80% of its active production capacity despite rising demand for cement. Njombo Lekula, the managing director of Southern Africa - PPC, told the Cape Times newspaper the company’s latest strategy and adaptation to the coronavirus pandemic had improved its operational flexibility. He said that it can ‘switch on’ plants to respond to demand, that its ‘Three Mega Plant’ strategy allows it to cope for periods when supply outstrips demand and that the company has mothballed plants at present. He added that PPC is not using 35% of its own capacity at the moment. Lekula also estimated that the local sector as a whole it not using 40% of its production capacity.

India: Dalmia Bharat plans to more than triple its installed cement production capacity by 2030, to 110–130Mt/yr from 30.8Mt/yr in 2021. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that with the completion of all on-going projects, the producer’s capacity will rise to 48.5Mt/yr.

Bolivia: Empresa Publica Productiva Cementos de Bolivia’s (ECEBOL) integrated Oruro plant is operating at 80% capacity following its reopening in mid-June 2021. The unit is selling cement to La Paz, Oruro and Cochabamba, according to the La Razón newspaper. Restarting the plant cost around US$8m.

Jordan: The country’s industrial chambers have made a statement saying that most cement plants are charging ‘average’ prices for cement despite recent rises in energy costs due to imported coal and diesel. In a joint statement the group’s said, that although some plants have increased the price of cement, it does not reflect the increase in real cost to producers, according to the Jordan News Agency. The price of cement has reportedly risen by 12% recently.

The industrial chambers noted that the sector is, “keen to stabilise commodity prices locally and maintain their sustainability." It added that it accomplished this in the interests of citizens during the Covid-19 crisis despite the high price of raw materials. The statement also noted that the country has a cement production capacity of 10Mt/yr but the local market only uses 3Mt/yr.

Mexico: Cemex says that it will invest US$925m in 2021 – 2023 in production capacity expansions and upgrades, as well as in other projects to improve financial margins. Chief executive officer Fernando González said at its Cemex Day 2021 business update that the group is planning a 10Mt/yr cement capacity expansion consisting of an extra 7.5Mt/yr in the Americas, 1.5Mt/yr in the Philippines and 1.0Mt/yr in Europe. It expects a total increase in 2023 full-year profit of US$520m as result of the investments. Around US$425m will be spent on the cement capacity additions and the remainder will go towards projects on urbanisation and its other business lines.

Strategic planning and business development executive vice president José González said “We focus on high-growth metropolitan areas, where our products and solutions nurture the urbanisation needs of these markets. These areas represent around 70% of the population and around 80% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of construction.”

Nepal: A report by the Nepal Rastra Bank has estimated that Nepal will require 26Mt/yr of cement by the 2024 – 25 financial year due to large-scale infrastructure projects. However, current production before the coronavirus pandemic was around 7.5Mt/yr despite the country’s production capacity of 15Mt/yr, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper. Domestic consumption is 9Mt with around 1.5Mt of demand supplied from imports, mainly from India. The report added that most of the large projects in Nepal used cement imported from India due to issues with certification, consistent quality and the inability of local producers to offer bulk supply. In 2019 the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies forecast that the country’s cement production capacity could increase to 20Mt/yr by the end of the 2023 – 24 year.

Dhruba Raj Thapa, president of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nepal, said that the data in the report by the bank contained errors. He pointed out that the country has a cement production capacity of 22Mt/yr and that it is already self-sufficient in the commodity. He also refuted the claims that infrastructure projects prefer imported cement.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement says that work is underway to increase its total cement production capacity in Nigeria by 4.5Mt/yr before September 2021. The Guardian newspaper has reported that plans consist of new lines at the company’s cement plants in Obajana, Kogi state, and Okpella, Edo state, and the restart of production at its plant at Gboko, Benue state. Sales and marketing director Rabiu Umar said that the reason behind the decision was a surge in demand leading to a ‘sold-out’ situation in the country. He added that the firm has also ceased its export programmes in order to better serve the needs of domestic consumption.