Displaying items by tag: Law

Cameroon: The government has enacted a ban on the export of cement, along with other commodities including oil and grain, from East Region. The Journal du Cameroun newspaper has reported that the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine have exacerbated a difficult supply situation of the basic commodities in the region, dating to the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country in March 2020.

The East Region borders the Central African Republic and Congo. It has no cement plants of its own.

China: Gansu Qilianshan Cement plans to restructure its business. The group says that, should it proceed with its proposed restructuring, it will issue shares. Reuters News has reported that the restructuring may constitute a material asset restructuring.

Namibia: Immigration authorities have deported eight illegal Whale Rock Cement workers back to China. The Namibia Press Agency has reported that a court sentenced the Chinese nationals to deportation and fined them US$403 each.

Whale Rock Cement has reportedly launched its own legal action against vigilante workers’ rights group Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF), which uncovered the illegal practices, for trespassing.

Ghana: The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has reported discoveries of Empire Cement brand cement on sale on the open market despite neither it nor the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) having issued permits for Empire Cement to produce cement. Graphic Online News has reported that the suspect products are wrongly labelled with certification marks. GSA director general Alex Dodoo warned that this constitutes an offence.

Namibia: Immigration authorities have apprehended eight Chinese employees of Whale Rock Cement at the company’s Otjiwarongo grinding plant who failed to produce working permits during an inspection. Namibian Press Agency News has reported that seven of the workers have been in Namibia since mid-2021, while the eighth arrived in March 2022.

Algeria: Some cement truck drivers have launched protests against a change in the law which limits their vehicles’ loads below the previous maximum weight. The L’Expression newspaper reports that protests include refusals to depart and the establishment of roadblocks. The actions have prevented the export of some Algerian clinker. Lafarge Algérie said that it raised drivers’ pay per tonne of goods following the law change. The company stated that the new level of pay ensures that transporters will not lose out as a result.

Algeria is targeting cement and clinker exports of 10Mt in 2022.

India: Axis Bank subsidiary Axis Securities has predicted a 4 – 6% year-on-year drop in Indian cement sales volumes during the third quarter of the 2022 financial year, which ended on 31 December 2021. The Hindu newspaper has reported the reasons for the predicted drop as extended monsoons, especially in the south of the country, and a construction ban in the National Capital Region due to pollution. Monthly sales grew slightly year-on-year in December 2021.

Axis Securities has also forecast a revival of demand in the fourth-quarter, driven by infrastructure and housing projects. Overall, it expects national demand for cement to grow by 8 – 9% in the 2022 financial year.

Vietnam: Local residents have blocked entrances to Van Ninh cement plant in Quang Binh’s Quang Ninh district in protest against alleged pollution violations. Van Ninh Cement previously incurred a US$3100 fine for dust emissions following a similar protest in 2017. The residents have put up tents in which to sleep in front of the plant in order to prevent the blockade’s removal.

US: The California State Senate has voted in favour of a bill to implement the US’s most advanced statutory framework for cement industry decarbonisation by 74 votes to two. The statute provides for the implementation of lifecycle CO₂ emissions reporting for cement produced in the state at an estimated cost of US$220,000/yr. The California Air Resources Board will then implement a ‘programme developed as a result of identified strategies’ at an ‘unknown but significant cost.’ The aim of the strategy will be to facilitate a 40% reduction in cement production’s CO₂ emissions between 2019 and 2030 and the attainment of net zero cement production by 2045.

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has appointed Stéphanie Bondoux as its director of certification and accreditation. In her new role, Bondoux will help the company to comply with France’s technical norms and standard practices. In order to ensure that it continues to meet the highest industry standards, she will assess the performance, the sustainability of solutions and the safety of the various applications while fostering Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies’s policy of innovation. This will involve close collaboration with both the producer’s testing segment and accreditation bodies.

Bondoux was previously head of accreditations and regulatory frameworks for Liechtenstein-based building materials producer Hilti's Western Europe business, having begun her career as a fastening product manager there. She holds a master's degree in marketing from Sorbonne University, Paris.