Displaying items by tag: Infrastructure

Belgium: Holcim Belgium has joined Fluxys open-access CO₂ transport network project. It intends to use the Fluxys network to either transport captured CO2 for sequestration in the North Sea or reuse in other industry after it builds a new 6000t/day production line at its Obourg plant by early 2026. As part of this process Holcim Belgium also plans to build a cryogenic CO₂ capture and treatment unit at Obourg by early 2028.

Pascal De Buck, the chief executive officer of Fluxys, said "Holcim's interest in our CO₂ network project at the Mons industrial cluster confirms the efforts industries are making to find solutions for decarbonising their activities. We're here to meet that need, which is why we offer them an open-access CO₂ network they can use to transport their captured CO₂ to storage or reuse sites. This kind of network helps achieve climate objectives and contributes to the long-term viability of the economy."

The proposed Fluxys CO₂ transport network will see the construction and creation in Belgium of pipelines, intermodal hubs, port terminals and shipping from 2025 onwards. The proposed infrastructure is intended to transport three gases: CO₂, hydrogen and methane.

India: Gautam Adani, the chair of Adani Group, says his company has plans to double its cement production capacity to 140Mt/yr by the late 2020s and become the most profitable producer in the sector. In a speech made to mark the group’s US$6.5bn acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC, he anticipated that a rise in cement demand in India, due to economic growth and government infrastructure development, would lead to “significant” margin expansion, according to the Press Trust of India. He added that the transaction was the country’s largest ever in-bound merger and acquisition in the infrastructure and materials sector.

Adani explained the decision to enter the cement market was due to India’s growth potential in the cement market. He said that while India is the second largest producer of cement in the world, its per capita consumption is just 250kg compared to 1600kg of China. He also expected that long-term average growth in cement demand would be 1.2 to 1.5 times the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) due to government investments in infrastructure and housing.

Zimbabwe: Part of Lafarge Zimbabwe’s approved US$25m capital expenditure investments will go towards further expanding the company’s cement capacity in order to meet local demand. The company also plans to establish a new dry mortars plant. Lafarge Zimbabwe is on track to commission a new vertical roller mill at its Manresa grinding plant in early 2023. Lafarge Zimbabwe’s chief executive officer Geoffrey Ndugwa said, “The overall market demand continues to grow, driven by the segment of individual home builders as well as the ongoing major government infrastructure development projects. The company is confident that volumes will recover and grow as the availability of cement stabilises.”

Vietnam: Cement producers and exporters will pay an additional 5 – 10% tariff on their exports of cement and clinker from 1 January 2023. Viet Nam News has reported that the move aims to bring down local cement prices by increasing supply in the country. These have risen over the past six months, while export prices have remained level.

The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) says that its members are struggling to increase exports in a highly competitive export market. In the six months up to the end of August 2022, China, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Taiwan all reduced their imports of Vietnamese cement. The decline included a ‘substantial’ reduction of imports by China and the Philippines. Exporters faced logistical difficulties in shipping cement to the Philippines, while China’s consumption dropped due to new Covid-19 restrictions and low residential construction activity there.

The VNCA forecasts cement production of 108Mt in 2022, against a national demand of 65Mt. It projected that a series of infrastructure projects will bolster domestic consumption between 2022 and 2025.

Philippines: Cemex Philippines says that it was the sole supplier of cement for the construction of the Cordova Link Expressway, the longest bridge in the country. It supplied nearly 70,000t of cement for the project. It connects Cebu City to the municipality of Cordova on Mactan Island and spans a total of 8.9km standing on twin tower pylons reaching 145m in height. The bridge opened to road traffic in 2022.

China: Asia Cement (China) reported a 7% year-on-year drop in its first-half sales to US$732m in 2022. Its first-half profit was US$46.1m, down by 70% year-on-year from US$156m. The producer sold 13.4Mt of cement during the half. It plans to achieve full-year cement sales of 29.4Mt.

Asia Cement (China) believes that cement demand in China is now on a ‘downward trend.’ It nonetheless remains ‘cautiously optimistic’ about its full-year 2022 results, foreseeing a degree of demand recovery arising from planned government infrastructure investment in the second half of the year.

The Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle (CCEC) in Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality represents a growing market for Asia Cement (China). Of a total of 160 planned key projects in the CCEC in 2022, 152 commenced construction during the first half of the year.

Indonesia: A Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) academic has estimated a 33% rise in Indonesian cement consumption to 84Mt/yr from the start of construction of the country's planned new capital city, Nusantara, and for the following 20 years during which the city is under construction. National coal consumption is forecast to rise accordingly, by 9% to 126.5Mt/yr. Mongabay News has reported that the Indonesian government has more than tripled the coal domestic market obligation for cement production to 15Mt/yr in 2022 - 2025, from 4.5Mt in 2021.

The site of Nusantara sits on the present border between North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara districts. Construction of the city's upcoming government district is beginning in August 2022. 100,000 workers will be engaged in the first phase of construction. A researcher at Beihang University, China, has reportedly estimated that the eventual 10m people-strong city will consume 60Mt of cement for residential construction alone.

US: Eagle Materials offset higher energy and maintenance costs by raising the prices of its products in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year. This contributed to an 18% year-on-year sales rise to US$561m. The group achieved earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$184m during the quarter, up by 13% year-on-year.

President and chief executive officer Michael Haack said "Our results this quarter exceeded our expectations, as our portfolio of businesses performed well, and we executed on the opportunities available to us. Construction activity remained healthy across our markets, and we realised broad pricing gains across our portfolio again this quarter."

The producer’s cement sales rose by 5% year-on-year to US$285m. Haack said "In our heavy materials business, we implemented a second round of cement price increases in early July 2022 given the strong demand environment and our sold-out position. Looking ahead, we expect demand for cement to remain strong, with infrastructure investment increasing as federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act begins in earnest this fiscal year.”

India: UltraTech Cement plans to increase its installed cement production capacity to 154Mt/yr by the beginning of the 2026 financial year on 1 April 2025. The increase represents a composite annual growth rate of 10% from 115Mt/yr at the start of the 2023 financial year. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the producer plans to carry out the expansion in two phases.

Indian domestic cement consumption is forecast to continue growing by 5% year-on-year over a five-year period to July 2027.

India: UltraTech Cement increased its sales by 28% year-on-year to US$1.9bn in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year, from US$1.48bn in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year. The company’s net profit during the quarter was US$198m, down by 7% year-on-year from US$213m in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year.

Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that UltraTech Cement recorded increased cement demand in June 2022 and forecasts full-year year-on-year consumption growth nationally. The producer said that state-backed investment in infrastructure and industrial development will support high housing demand momentum, while pressure will remain on its profitability due to high costs.