Displaying items by tag: Plant

Indonesia: Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Dahlan Iskan has said that he expects that Semen Kupang, a local cement company in East Nusa Tenggara that went bankrupt in 2008, will re-open and build a third plant to meet demand for cement in the region.

In 2008 Semen Kupang formed a joint operation scheme with Sarana Agro Gemilang (SAG) to cope with its debts. Dahlan explained that all of Semen Kupang's debt has been paid and that the company 'must' expand its business by developing the national cement industry to meet national demand.

China: Shijiazhuang, Hebei province has started the demolition of its first batch of 18 cement plants on 17 December 2013 to fight air pollution. 74 cement plants in the suburbs of Shijiazhuang are targeted for deconstruction by March 2014 according to China Daily. The planned demolition is planned to include all the western areas of the city by 2017.

"The cement companies have been a major source of dust pollution, making them a priority for demolition," said Niu Yongzhi, the official from the Bureau of Industry and Information in Shijiazhuang who is in charge of the project.

Demolition of the first 18 cement plants will be completed in January 2014. Removal of these cement units is expected to significantly reduce dust and nitrogen oxides emissions. More than 3500 cement plant employees will lose their jobs in the demolition.

The government will pay compensation to the companies whose plants are being shut down. Seven plants in Pingshan county will receive an average of US$1.5m each and tax breaks will be given to the companies when they start other businesses. The other 11 cement plants in Luquan will receive similar compensation.

The 18 cement plants, scattered throughout the northwestern area of Shijiazhuang produce 9.4Mt/yr or about 21% of the city's annual output. By 2014 cement production capacity in Hebei will drop to 61Mt/yr, half of the province's cement production in 2012.

US: Buzzi Unicem USA has announced that it plans to modernise and expand its Maryneal cement plant in Texas. The updated plant will have a 1.2Mt/yr cement capacity, up from 0.55Mt/yr. State-of-the-art pollution control equipment will be installed that will significantly reduce NOx emissions. The major components that will be installed during the expansion will include a new raw mill, a preheater/precalciner kiln and cooler system, a 4500KW finish mill, a solid fuel grinding and feed system and continued use of a newly commissioned Fives FCB Horomill Finish Mill.

"As an industry leader in quality and service, Buzzi Unicem USA is committed to sustainable, environmentally-responsible manufacturing at all of its plants," said David Nepereny, CEO of Buzzi Unicem USA. "The Maryneal plant expansion will result in a world-class facility that has the latest pyroprocessing, environmental and safety equipment."

The expansion will create an additional 200 full-time jobs for the 2 - 3 years that construction project is expected to last.

Nigeria: Sinoma International Engineering has signed a US$536m deal with Dangote to build two 6000t/day clinker production lines and accessories in Sagamu. The contract includes engineering design, equipment procurement and supply, civil construction, electrical equipment installation, debugging, performance appraisal and accessory projects covering the production process from crushing to packaging and delivery by the bag and in bulk.

India: Ultratech Cement plans to spend US$810m to build two cement plants in the state of Uttarakhand. The Industrial Development Department has issued a letter of intent to the Indian cement producer asking it to set up its new plants at Tuni, Dehradun district and at Someshwar, Almora district. The plant at Tuni will have a cement production capacity of 3.5Mt/yr and the plant at Someshwar will have a capacity of 2Mt/yr.

Ethiopia: The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) has signed a loan agreement with Habesha Cement for US$33m to build a 1.4Mt/yr cement plant at Holeta in Oromia State. Additional loan agreements were also signed in late November 2013 between Habesha, the DBE and the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) Bank, the financial arm of the Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA). The PTA Bank is co-financing the Habesha project by lending US$50m.

According to Addis Fortune, Habesha is now seeking a letter of credit to allow equipment for the cement plant to be imported. Chinese engineering firm Northern Heavy Machinery Industries have been hired to import and erect machinery for US$80m.

Previously the DBE approved a loan for US$83m to cover 70% of the project costs but it withdrew the offer in early 2013. The current DBE loan only covers 30% of the project costs. Other investors, including PPC and South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation (SAIDC) paid US$21m for nearly half of Habesha Cement in 2012. The plant was originally scheduled to start production by 2012.

East Timor: POSCO E&C Australia, an Australian subsidiary of POSCO Engineering & Construction, has won a US$350m contract to build a cement plant for BGC in Baucau, East Timor. POSCO E&C Australia will be responsible for the whole process from engineering, procurement and construction. The length of the project will be 34 months.

Kazakhstan: Italcementi Group has invested US$80m in the modernisation of its Shymkentcement JSC plant in southern Kazakhstan. The new dry-process cement line will have a cement capacity of 1.2Mt/yr and is expected to be commissioned in 20 months.

"The new cement line is expected to produce clinker in mid-2015. After the launch of the new line, the old furnace will be shut down," said the general director of the Shymkentcement plant.

Zambia: Lafarge Zambia plc has commissioned a US$5m 600,000t/yr aggregate plant with the Zambian Government that is expected to create 70 new direct jobs.

Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Emmanuel Chenda, said that national roads infrastructure programmes such as the Link Zambia 8,000 and Pave Zambia 2000 require readily available cement and aggregate and the plant will ensure there is adequate supply for the project to be implemented effectively.

"The huge demand for cement and aggregates that the construction industry provides cannot be overstated. The market is ready and all you need is tap into it by way of increasing commercial circulation of the products at competitive market rates," said Chenda. He disclosed that Government has formulated mid-term policies and strategies to address constraints in the manufacturing sector such as high cost of production, limited access to long-term finance and weak linkages. The policies will be implemented over the next five years in line with the revised Sixth National Development Plan.

Lafarge Zambia chief executive officer Emmanuel Rigaux said that the aggregate plant can also be adjusted in terms of capacity, which will enable the company to supply more of the product as required.

Denmark: An ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) arbitration has been concluded in a case between MT Højgaard A/S and FLSmidth A/S dating back to 2004.

Much to the surprise of FLSmidth and contrary to expectations, the ICC arbitration award renders FLSmidth liable to pay significantly higher compensation than expected. The compensation is due for some of the costs resulting from delays at the Buxton cement plant in the UK in 2004.

According to the arbitration award, FLSmidth is to pay partial compensation plus interest, plus part of the costs of the proceedings to MT Højgaard.

The impact on FLSmidth's financial statements amounts to a net loss of Euro21.5m on EBITA and Euro16.1m on profit after tax, which will be booked in the fourth quarter of 2013. Consequently, the EBITA margin for 2013 is expected to be 3.5-4.5% rather than the previously forecast 4-5%.