Displaying items by tag: Mozambique

Portugal: Cimpor’s sales rose by 2.6% to Euro921m in the first half of 2017 from Euro897m in the same period in 2016. Recovery in the Portuguese market buoyed its sales despite continued issues in Brazil, Egypt and Mozambique. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 2.6% to Euro166m from Euro170m due to non-recurring costs. However, the cement producer said that, excluding these its earnings would have remained stable and would have even risen by 4% if CO2 permits management had been disregarded. Its cement sales volumes fell by 2.7% to 11.5Mt from 11.8Mt.

Mozambique: President Filipe Nyusi has announced that work on building a new cement plant in Niassa province will start later in 2017. The unit is expected to source many of its raw materials locally, such as limestone and clay, according to the Mozambique News Agency. Once operational the plant is expected to create over 500 jobs. The project follows the reopening of the Cuamba to Lichinga railway in late 2016.

Mozambique: Iran’s Qeshm Cement Company has prepared its first consignment of cement and clinker for exports to Mozambique. 47,000t of clinker and 3000t of clinker will be shipped on a free on board trade basis, according to the Bourse Press Agency. Hormoz Amiri, an official at Iran’s Qeshm Free Zone, added that the trading enclave plans to export 0.2Mt/yr of cement and clinker to Africa in the current Iranian financial year.

Mozambique: Alfredo Sitoe, the general director of the National Norms and Quality Institute (INNOQ), has said that all cement imports must be tested for quality. The new legislation was set up in July 2016 but took effect in January 2017, according to the Mozambique News Agency. Cement importers are required to provide origin details to the INNOQ that will then check certification with the relevant organisation in the exporting country.

Mozambique: President Filipe Nyusi has inaugurated a new US$24m cement grinding plant in Metuge, Cabo Delgado. The plant has a production capacity of 0.25Mt/yr. Cement produced at the site will be sold under the ‘African Elephant’ brand, according to the Mozambique News Agency. Once construction is complete the plant will employ 67 local workers alongside Chinese technical staff.

Mozambique: Cement production capacity in Mozambique is expected to increase to 5.3Mt/yr by the end of 2016, up from 2Mt/yr, with the opening of three new cement plants. CIF-Moz and Limak Cements will be opening plants in the southern province of Maputo and Fabrica Cimentos de Cabo Delgado will be opening a plant in the north of the country. CIF-Moz is owned by the China International Fund and Limak Cements is owned by the Turkish company Limak Holding.

At the end of June 2016 the Mozambican government introduced new regulations covering the production and importation of cement. This included a surcharge of 10.5% on imports. Other forms of protection included in the new regulations cover certification requirements such as packaging and expiry dates.

The country has 11 cement plants with the main supplier being Cimentos de Mocambique which has production facilities in Maputo, Sofala, and Nampula. Cimentos de Mocambique is 82.4% owned by Brazil’s InterCement. The other cement producers are S and S Cimentos, Sunera, Cimentos Nacional, Adil Cimentos, Austral Cimentos, Cimentos da Beira and Maputo Cement and Steel.

Mozambique: Cimentos da Beira, the newest cement producer in Mozambique, plans to export some of its cement to neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi, in addition to supplying the domestic market, according to the Managing Director of the company, Wouter Trollip.

The plant, with an installed cement production capacity of 800,000t/yr, is expected to start operating later in October 2015, after tests of the substation that will supply electricity are complete. Trollip said that the plant already has 40,000t of clinker in stock in order to start cement production as soon as the power supply is guaranteed. With British and South African investment of US$45m, Cimentos da Beira employs 70 workers. Sofala Province now has three cement plants, including Cimentos de Moçambique and the recent Austral Ciment, an Austrian investment, both located in Dondo.

Mozambique: Limak Holding has started the construction of its 2Mt/yr cement plant in Maputo. The plant is scheduled to come into operation in the first quarter of 2016.

Serdar Bacaksız, a Limak Holding board member, said that the company has been closely monitoring the African market for a long time and might increase its investment by up to US$150m if needed. Underlining that Mozambique falls short of satisfying the rapidly-increasing demand for cement, Bacaksız said that the country offers major incentives to foreign investors, as it needs new investments in all fields.

Limak Holding is also set to lay the foundations of a cement plant on the Ivory Coast in November 2015 with an investment of US$55m. "We plan to open it in 2016," said Bacaksız, adding that the company will continue to seize different opportunities in the region. Limak Holding aims to achieve a turnover of US$3bn by the end of 2015.

Mozambique: Cimentos de Mocambique, part of Intercement, has concluded the installation of kiln filters at its cement plant in Matola, Maputo. The company invested US$10m in the equipment to reduce air pollution levels in the area.

Mozambique: Ambrian has announced that its Beira cement plant in Mozambique was completed this week, but that delays and cost overruns mean that the plant will cost an extra US$3m. The delays, which were due to issues with contractors, the availability of qualified staff and regulatory response times, increased the plant cost from US$42.5m to US$45.5m. Testing of the electricity substation will now start at the site and a timetable will be agreed to connect the substation to the main grid, which is expected to happen in early August 2015.