Displaying items by tag: Pakistan

Pakistan: The end of 2019 has seen a flurry of 13 proposals for the construction of new plants and one proposed upgrade submitted to different government departments across Pakistan’s five Punjabi districts. The Balochistan Times has reported that Punjab Minister for Trade and Industries Mian Aslam Iqbal stressed the need for cement companies to provide plans for minimal water use in order to receive clearance.

Pakistan: Punjab’s Minister for Industries & Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal says that the provincial government has lifted a ban on the cement industry after 12 years. He made the statement following a meeting reviewing investment in the cement sector and installation of new plants in the province, according to the Business Recorder newspaper. He also expressed regret that obtaining no objection certificates (NOC) for new projects had taken too long and that the local government has set up a special section of its industries department to hasten the process.

Pakistan: Cement producers in Pakistan have increased volumes in the five months to 30 November 2019 by 5.8% year-on-year to 20.5Mt from 19.9Mt. This represents 82% utilisation of its 55.9Mt/yr capacity. Exports over the period were 3.61Mt, up by 22% year-on-year from 2.97Mt in the same period of 2018. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturer Association (APCMA) released a statement lobbying the government to intervene in replacing bricks, the production of which it says causes smog in central Punjab, with concrete blocks. “Government should start work on announced housing projects that would have a positive impact on uptake of cement,” it said.

Pakistan: The Peshawar High Court has rejected a petition by local residents to prevent the construction of a US$245m cement plant in Haripur by the military Frontier Works Organisation. The Balochistan Times has reported that the project will entail the relocation of people from an area of 0.66km2 and the felling of ‘thousands of trees.’ The Supreme Court gave a preliminary hearing to the case on 2 December 2019, giving the Attorney General, Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Defence Ministry until 9 December 2019 to submit their replies.

Pakistan: DG Khan Cement has asked the government of Punjab province if it can expand the production capacity at one of its cement plants by 12,000t/day. Bloomberg said that it had seen a letter sent to the local government and that Javed Iqbal Malik, a senior economic adviser at Punjab province's industries department, had confirmed receiving it. The approval process could take up to 12 months. If accepted the upgrade could see DG Khan Cement surpass Bestway Cement to become the country’s largest cement producer with a production capacity of 10.7Mt/yr.

Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers’ Association has released figures showing a total cement output of 4.98Mt in October 2019, up by 9.2% from 4.56Mt in October 2018. Business Recorder recorded that this is a national record for monthly despatches; the second month of growth following year-on-year falls in July and August 2019. Exports continued to rise, to 0.79Mt, up by 28% from 0.62Mt in October 2018.

Pakistan: Cement producers in Pakistan dispatched a total volume of 4.3Mt of cement in September 2019, 13% more than the 3.8Mt shifted in September 2018. Domestic consumption stood at 3.5Mt, representing a 13% increase from 3.1Mt in the same month of 2018. The country exported the remaining 0.8Mt, a 14% increase compared to the 0.7Mt exported in September 2018. The Pakistan Observer has suggested that dwindling demand and new legislation requiring sellers of goods over US$319 in value to have a Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), something which the majority of cement producers do not hold, are placing a drag on growth.

Pakistan: Gharibwal Cement has blamed reduced exports due to tensions on the Pakistan-Indian border and rising input costs for a reduction in its sales. Its net sales fell by 3% year-on-year to US$72.3m in the year to 30 June 2019 from US$74.5m in the same period in 2018. Its cement dispatches fell by 11.4% to 1.68Mt from 1.89Mt. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 6.5% to US$18.7m from US$20m.

The cement producer said that work on a new 0.15Mt clinker silo is in progress and this is expected to be completed by June 2020. It is also building a rainwater reservoir to capture precipitation for use in the production process. The company operates a 2.1Mt/yr integrated plant at Ismailwal in Punjab Province.

Pakistan: Pioneer Cement’s sales fell by 4% year-on-year to US$62m in the year to 30 June 2019 from US$64.5m in the same period in 2018. Its costs and expenses grew by 7% to US$3.4m from US$3.2m. Its profit after taxation halved to US$5m from US$10.5m. The cement producer operates a 2Mt/yr integrated plant at Chenki in Punjab Province.

Pakistan: Thatta Cement has appointed Naheed Memon as the chairperson of its board of directors. She succeeds Khawaja Muhammad Salman Younis, who left the role on 23 September 2019.