Displaying items by tag: Plant
Lafarge suspends construction of Rostov cement plant
23 June 2015Russia: According to Esmerk Russian News, Lafarge has suspended the construction of a Euro710m cement plant in Rostov. The plant was scheduled to launch in 2016. The planned capacity of the first phase was 2Mt/yr of cement.
Algeria moves towards cement self-sufficiency
23 June 2015Algeria: According to All Africa, the Algerian minister of Industry and Mines Abdeslam Bouchouareb has said that the country is moving towards, "Self-sufficiency in cement and steel products thanks to the new facilities that will be operational in the short term."
Bouchouareb said that Algeria, which imports about 3Mt/yr of cement, "Will manage to cover its needs and even over produce by 2016." It will be the first time since independence from France in 1962 that the country will cease cement imports.
Two new cement plants in Biskra with a total production capacity of 4Mt/yr will, besides the national network of operating cement plants, meet the demand of the domestic cement market. Privately-owned La Biskrie des Ciments will be operational in December 2015 with an 1Mt/yr of cement production capacity.
Nepal: Dangote Cement Nepal has said that it will start the construction of a plant in Makawanpur in three months, when all of the preparatory works, licensing and permissions are complete. D V G Edwin, executive director of Dangote Group, said that the company would also acquire a license for an additional mine by then.
Dangote Cement Nepal plans to start production within three years with an investment of US$550m. It will be Dangote's 15th cement plant and will have 6000t/day of production capacity.
Meanwhile, Dangote Group has provided US$1m of to Nepal's Disaster Relief Fund. The support was provided through Dangote Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Dangote Group. Zouera Youssoufou, managing director of the foundation, handed over the cheque to prime minister Sushil Koirala on 17 June 2015. According to company officials, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Foundation, has also sent a message of sympathy to the government and assured the foundation that support in the rehabilitation of earthquake victims would be provided.
Russia: According to Prime News, Mikhail Skorokhod, president of Eurocement Group, has said that the cement industry of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, may receive about Euro4.42bn of private investment until 2020.
"Speaking of plans until 2020, we expect to see launches of about 40Mt/yr of capacities and about Euro4.42bn of private investment will be needed for that," said Skorokhod, adding that investments in Russia will account for about 80% of the total sum. Investment in the sector amounted to Euro13.3bn until 2014 and production capacities totalling 45Mt/yr cement were launched.
India: According to the Press Trust of India, at least five suspected A'chik Matgrik Elite Force (AMEF) terrorists attacked the Virgo cement plant in Damas, North Garo Hills, Meghalaya in the early morning on 18 June 2015. Two crude bombs were hurled in the incident, causing partial damage to a building. No casualties have been reported.
The men entered the plant through the second gate and asked the security personnel in the sentry post to open the main gate door. After they exploded one crude bomb inside the sentry post, causing partial damage, another crude bomb was thrown before escaping.
Cement plant announced in Honduras
17 June 2015Honduras: According to Central America Data, the Honduran government has signed an agreement with the Italian Goldlake Group to build a cement plant with an estimated value of US$200m. The agreement comes within the framework of the VII Italian-American Latin America and the Caribbean Conference with president Juan Orlando Hernandez as a witness of honour. Economic development minister Alden Rivera announced that construction of the cement plant would start in July 2015 in the Valley of Agalteca.
Russia: Russia's cement consumption may fall by 5 - 10% in 2015, according to Eurocement Group forecasts. The cement market contracted by 9% in January - April 2015. The decline slowed to 4 - 5% in May 2015, according to preliminary data.
The situation on the construction market is currently unfavourable for cement production as borrowing is too expensive, which slows new construction and gives developers an incentive to monetise projects at the implementation stage. "Developers are currently trying to complete projects that are already underway, so consumption of finished products has increased and companies are reluctant to begin new construction projects, which takes a toll on cement consumption," said Eurocement president Mikhail Skorokhod.
Eurocement has continued to upgrade its cement plants and all of its plants will switch to the dry-process for cement production by 2020. The programme will boost Eurocement's production capacity to 60Mt/yr from 50Mt/yr. Capital investment in the upgrades will total an estimated Euro1.62bn.
At the start of July 2015, a 1.3Mt/yr capacity plant will be commissioned in Ulyanovsk region's Sengileevsky district, according to Skorokhod. The plant will have the option of shipping product on the Volga river, reducing some of Eurocement's logistical costs.
Cement plants’ blasting threatens the Angat Dam
10 June 2015Philippines: According to local media, Cement plants using explosives to extract limestone in the mountains of eastern Bulacan poses a threat that might break the Angat Dam, a large hydroelectric facility that supplies electricity and water to the Manila metropolitan area.
"Years of massive quarrying of mineral deposits in the area had taken its toll. The removal of the mountains in the area is not only ugly, but also appears to be a disaster waiting to happen since the mining area is so close to the Angat dam," said Martin Francisco, chairman of the Sagip Sierra Madre Environmental Society Inc (SSMSI). He added that since Angat Dam lies along the West Valley fault line, the mining of limestone deposits in the area could weaken the structure of the dam and its foundation because cement plants are still using explosives in extracting marble and limestone.
In a report to Bulacan governor Wilhelmino M Sy-Alvarado, the SSMSI said that residents and a cultural minority group, the Dumagats, have complained about the vibrations and noise in the mountains caused by dynamite blasts. "The explosions are causing too much anxiety and could even scare the people out of their wits since the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has once again confirmed that the West Valley Fault is active. This is another threat to a dam break," said Francisco. He added that several landslides were reported in 2014 and several small sink holes in the mountains have appeared.
Alvarado has formed a team to investigate the matter and has requested that the cement plants refrain from using explosives to extract limestone.
Dangote to expand Ethiopian cement plant
09 June 2015Ethiopia: Accoring to Nigeria News, Dangote Group president Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said that 'plans are afoot' to double the capacity of the newly-opened US$500m, 2.5Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Mugher, Oromia, Ethiopia. Dangote said that the expansion work would begin before the end of 2015.
The decision to set up and then expand the plant was informed by the 'enabling' environment created by the Ethiopian government with massive investment in several large-scale infrastructure projects, including the construction of the continent's largest hydropower dam. The Ethiopian plant will create direct employment for 2000 people in the main plant operations and logistics, with a fleet of 600 trucks. 5000 indirect jobs will also be created.
Dangote said that achieving real economic integration in African would require political stability and a breakdown of the barriers and borders between countries, which hinders free flow of goods, services and people. "We need to make deliberate efforts to encourage Africans, not just foreigners, to invest in Africa. Dangote Cement is currently in 16 African countries with plans to invest in many more over the next years. There are a number of other successful pan-African brands today such as MTN, Shoprite and Ecobank," said Dangote. "We need to encourage this trend to see more investments in Africa by Africans. Above all, there is need to encourage the private sector to collaborate with governments across Africa to address the issue of infrastructure deficit, which has plagued the continent for decades."
Ethiopia's prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn said that as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the country's investment potential had barely been scratched. He said that the government was spending millions of dollars on critical infrastructure to address investment and align with policies that were already in place to aid investors. "Ethiopia represents a lucrative market that has barely been tapped with its 95 million people and growing economy," said Desalegn.
Ethiopia's Minister of Industry, Ahmed Abitew, said that, with the new plant, the country's cement sector would make significant growth in meeting local demand, which has grown due to infrastructural development. According to him, production has risen from 11.2Mt/yr to 17.5Mt/yr. "The government is giving due attention to the industrial sector with its average growth of 20%/yr," said Abitew.
Afghanistan: According to the BBC, following a meeting with the first vice president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Gen Abdorrashid Dostum, several Canadian businessmen said that they would invest US$8bn dollars in Afghanistan and later increase that amount.
The funds will be invested in the construction of a hydropower dam in Fariab Province and the extraction of gas and petroleum in Sheberghan City. Work to build a cement plant in Samangan Province, the extraction of coal in Takhar Province and gemstones in Badakhshan Province and an iron plant will also be part of their programmes. All the activities will be under control of the Afghan government, the World Bank and other Afghan government institutions.