Displaying items by tag: GCW196
Nicaragua: Cement companies Holcim and Cemex are increasing their investments in Nicaragua in preparation to supply the volumes required by the country over the coming years.
Holcim Nicaragua has inaugurated a US$10m project that will increase production by 30% and exceed 400,000t/yr. The business now has a new dynamic separator at its plant in Nagarote that will increase production through a more efficient use of raw materials and energy resources. It has also announced a second expansion phase, involving a US$6m investment to increase production by another 30%. The company, which has a 47% stake in the national cement market has ensured that it has sufficient reserves to produce the same volume of cement for 50 years.
Similarly, Cemex Nicaragua is building a US$55m plant in Ciudad Sandino in order to increase its annual production from 440,000t/yr to 800,000t/yr from 2017.
Ireland: CRH is paying Euro700m 'over the odds' for a Euro6.5bn acquisition that would make it the world's third-biggest building materials supplier, according to a report from US-based AllianceBernstein (AB), a global asset management company.
CRH has agreed to buy a number of mostly European assets from Lafarge and Holcim for Euro6.5bn so the merging companies can get competition clearance for their plan to create the cement industry's biggest company. However, AB has raised doubts about the value of the deal for CRH. The move was also was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders at a recent extraordinary general meeting.
In a detailed report into the deal, AB said that the move represented "A step in the wrong direction for CRH. The acquisition price of Euro6.5bn is 12% above our Euro5.8bn estimate of the fair value of the assets."
Chinese firm keen to invest in Andhra Pradesh
13 April 2015India/China: China's Sinoma International Engineering Co Ltd is keen to invest in cement and wind energy projects in Andhra Pradesh. Song Shoushan, Sinoma's chairman, told the delegation that it sees India as a potential market for the cement industry and that Sinoma sees Andhra Pradesh as a potential state for their biggest manufacturing facility in India.
Anhui Conch to build cement plant in Chelyabinsk
10 April 2015Russia: The government of Chelyabinsk and China's Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited are negotiating the construction of a cement plant. Anhui Conch has been provided several plots for assessment. According to general manager Wang Jianchao, a project scheme will be determined in the near future and will either consist of the modernisation of existing facilities or the construction of a new cement plant at undeveloped limestone deposits.
Mumbai Port Trust allots land for cement terminal
10 April 2015India: The Mumbai Port Trust has allocated allotted 25,000m2 of land at Petroleum Godown to UltraTech Cement for 30 years, from which cement can be shipped in from other states and distributed to users across the city, according to trust chairman and managing director Ravi Parmar.
The land will be used to build a fully-automated cement handling terminal devoid of air pollution. In 18 months, when the terminal will be completed, it will engage in the transport of cement required for Mumbai's consumption via the coastal route. The estimated cost of the development of the facility, duly equipped with portable unloaders, 30,000t silos, bagging facilities and other ancillary facilities is about US$16.1m.
Mumbai city consumes approximately 1.25Mt/yr of cement. Currently, this cement is moved by road and rail through neighbouring states, necessitating the entry and exit of nearly 350 trucks per day, congesting the already strained city roads.
Venezuela: AVIC International Beijing Co Ltd and its customer Industria Venezolana del Cemento (INVECEM) have ordered two vertical roller mills for INVECEM's new cement plant in Monay, Trujillo, Venezuela. The order comprises a LM 53.3+3C for grinding clinker and an LM 48.4 raw meal mill.
The new cement plant is a joint venture project of the governments of Venezuela and China, which have agreed to build three new cement plants in Venezuela, each with 2500t/day of cement production capacity.
The LM 48.4 LOESCHE vertical roller mill will grind cement raw material with a capacity of 280t/hr at 12% R0.09mm. The LM 53.3+3C cement mill will produce 200t/hr of Ordinary Portland cement with a fineness of 3200 Blaine. LDC classifiers are also included. Delivery of the key parts is planned for November 2015.
Waste incinerator cancelled after violent protests
09 April 2015China: Luoding City, a western Guangdong city, has cancelled a plan to build an incinerator that prompted a protest of up to 10,000 people, during which three police cars were flipped over and a duty office was vandalised.
The Luoding city government posted two letters on its website announcing the decision. One informed the Langtang township government that it had decided to cancel the project, which Langtang had brokered with China Resources Cement Holdings. The second letter urged residents to stop blocking roads, vandalising property or disturbing public order.
The decision came after residents of the town engaged in a stand-off with police on 7 April 2015 in protest against what they said was the violent handling of a peaceful sit-in against the incinerator on 6 April 2015. "People are angry with the site selection of the incinerator as it is within a 1km radius of their homes," said one resident. "The cement plant is producing enough pollution, we don't need another polluter."
Residents said that about 1000 locals turned up to the sit-in on 6 April 2015, which took place outside a cement plant owned by China Resources. They have claimed that more than 100 men dressed in black and armed with batons, helmets and shields beat demonstrators. They said that the men were a mix of policemen and security guards. "My nephew is only 14 and is suffering from concussion after he was beaten by the men with batons," said one resident. "It was very brutal and totally unnecessary to use such force against unarmed civilians during a peaceful and rational demonstration, especially as they attacked children too."
Luoding city government claimed that 400 residents had taken part in the 7 April 2015 stand-off and denied that any had been injured. It said that "A small number of troublemakers instigated the crowd," to block roads and throw rocks at plant staff. Police arrested the 'troublemakers,' but 400 others gathered the next day, with some throwing rocks and glass bottles and vandalising police cars and the duty office, according to the Luoding city government.
UK: David Ball Group, a UK-based manufacturer and supplier of cement admixture products and ultra-low-carbon, cement-free concrete, has announced that it has received investment from The Wheatsheaf Group.
David Ball Group will use the investment to further develop its PUDLO brand, a technically-advanced concrete waterproofing system and to fund the commercialisation of its new patented product, CEMFREE.
CEMFREE is a cement replacement technology that enables the production of structural concrete without the need for Portland cement, which accounts for 5-7% of global man-made CO2 emissions. David Ball Group and Wheatsheaf believe that CEMFREE will help the construction industry to lower its environmental impact by reducing the amount of carbon in structural concrete worldwide.
"We are delighted with the investment by Wheatsheaf. We were keen to find an experienced and dynamic investor who would not only bring skills to the board but assist with accelerating the growth of the business in the UK and overseas," said David Ball, founder and chairman of the David Ball Group. "Wheatsheaf has a strong focus on investing and supporting sustainable technologies and shares our belief that CEMFREE provides a significant opportunity for reducing carbon emissions within the construction sector. The level of interest generated by CEMFREE demonstrates the determination of the global cement and concrete industry to reduce its environmental impact with innovative business-led solutions."