Displaying items by tag: GCW294

Zambia: Lafarge Zambia’s export volumes of cement and clinker rose by 53% year-on-year in 2016. Domestic sales volumes fell by 42%, its sales revenue fell by 43% to US$93,000 and its profit before tax dropped significantly to US$13,000. The cement producer added that power supply issues had adversely impacted production costs at its Chilanga and Ndola plants. The company is positive in its outlook for 2017 and it is supplying building materials to large infrastructure projects including the Kafue Gorge Lower and Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.

Zimbabwe: PPC Zimbabwe’s managing director Kelibone Masiyane has said that duty on cement imports has done little to discourage the market. The government introduced a 25% duty on every 100t of imported cement in 2016, according to the NewsDay newspaper. He singled out imports from Zambia as well as those from South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana.

“In addition to liquidity challenges, we continued to face pressure from cheap imports. Government has tried to assist by introducing duty on imported cement, but the reality on the ground is that imports continue to pour in, particularly from Zambia,” said Masiyane. Despite this he added that PPC Zimbabwe was confident that the local economy would pick up in 2017 supported by infrastructure projects.

The Cement and Concrete Institute of Zimbabwe lobbied the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to ban imported cement in 2016. In a paper it suggested including a protection tariff to equate the landed price of imported cement to the cost of the local product, granting of import licences to local producers, cancelling or reviewing all issued permits that are circulating in the country and lowering duty on raw materials.

Libya: The Libyan Army’s spokesman Colonel Ahmed Mismari says that the Libyan Cement Company hired contractors from the Russian security company RSB Group to clear mines at its Benghazi plant, according to Russian Sputnik news agency. The clarification came in response to reports by Reuters that regional leader Khalifa Haftar had hired the contractors directly. Libyan Air Force Brigadier General Mohammed Manfour confirmed to Sputnik that Libya had no contracts with Russian private military companies. He added that the Libyan cement company had an agreement with a British insurance company that required it to clear the plant from mines, explosives and other remnants of military operations.

Iraq: Islamic State militants have set the Badoosh cement plant in western Mosul on fire. Major Ali Mohsen, an officer of the Counter-Terrorism Service, said that the plant had been looted and then set on fire, according to the Iraq News newspaper. He added that security forces had killed 15 militants and wounded three others in local fighting. The clashes are part of the Islamic State group’s action against attempts by Iraqi government forces to retake the region.

Algeria: Biskria Ciment has ordered five vertical rollers mills from Loesche. The contract includes two raw cement mills and three clinker mills for the plant at Biskra. With these mills raw cement meal can be ground to a fineness of 12% sieving residue with 90μm at a processing capacity of 500t/hr and the cement clinker to a fineness of 3,400 Blaine. The three new cement clinker mills have already been delivered and commissioning is planned for autumn 2017. The Chinese company CBMI Construction will act as contractor in this enterprise. No value for the order has been disclosed.

Mexico: Cemex has retained a 9.5% stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) following a sale of some of shares in the Mexican cement producer. Cemex said that the underwriters did not exercise their over-allotment option to acquire shares in GCC. Originally Cemex said in late 2016 that it intended to sell its full 23% minority stake in GCC.

India: Babul Supriyo, the Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, has revealed that the government is planning to sell five plants in the first phase of its divestment of non-operational units of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI). In a letter to the Indian parliament he said that plants at Mandhar, Kurkunta, Bhatinda, Nayagaon and Charkhi Dadri would be sold first, according to the Press Trust of India. However, legal issues at Delhi Grinding Unit (DGU), Adilabad and Akaltaraneed need to be resolved before these plants can be sold. No value for the sale has been set yet as the plants have not been valued.

Saudi Arabia: Tabuk Cement says it has obtained an export license from the Ministry of Commerce and Investment. The licence will be valid for one year, according to Mubasher. Sales volumes of cement fell by 25% year-on-year to 4Mt in February 2017.

Brazil: Magnesita’s revenue from its Industrial Refractory Solutions division rose by 3.3% year-on-year to US$144m in 2016 from US$140m in 2015. Its sales volumes grew by 10.2% to 147,000t from 133,000t. It attributed the gains to good performance in the Middle East, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region despite a declining cement industry in Brazil. Despite its success in its Industrial Refractory Solutions division the group reported falling overall refractory volumes and revenue in 2016 caused by decreases in steel production in South America and Europe. The company remains committed to merge with RHI by the end of 2017.

Kazakhstan: Seven Refractories has opened a plant in Karaganda with a production capacity of 40,000t/yr. The first production run was completed in mid-February 2017. The unit is the Slovenian company’s most easterly production site.