Displaying items by tag: Port

India: Ambuja Cements has concluded a deal to acquire a 57% stake in Sanghi Industries for US$202m. Reuters has reported that the company has offered to subsequently increase its stake in Sanghi Industries to as much as 83% for up to US$295m in total. It will fund the acquisition of any stake through internal accruals. Sanghi Industries operates the 6.1Mt/yr Sanghipuram cement plant, which is equipped with a 130MW captive power plant and a 13MW waste heat recovery (WHR) plant. The cement plant, in Gujarat, also has a single-jetty port on the Arabian Sea coast. Ambuja Cements' parent company Adani Group plans to more than double the Sanghipuram cement plant's capacity to 15Mt/yr.

Adani Group chair Gautam Adani said “By joining hands with Sanghi Industries, Ambuja is poised to expand its market presence, strengthen its product portfolio and reinforce its position as a leader in the construction materials sector. With this acquisition, Adani Group is well on course to achieve its target of 140Mt/yr of cement manufacturing capacity by 2028 ahead of time.”

India: The government of Assam has laid the foundation stone for its upcoming Bogibeel Inland Waterways Transport Terminal, a cargo and passenger port on the River Brahmaputra in Assam. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the state will invest US$5.67m in the port, which is scheduled to open in February 2024. Cement is among the commodities expected to travel through the port.

Assam’s Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, suggested that a new local cement industry might arise to take advantage of the improved transport situation, alongside other industries.

US: Cemex USA has commissioned a new 225t cement unloader for handling dry bulk materials from ships at the Port of Palm Beach in Florida. The port says that the producer invested US$7m in the equipment. It is decorated with a mural of a manatee cow and calf, dedicated to local conservation charity Friends of Manatee Lagoon.

Images here.

US: Holcim US has announced plans for a 25MW solar power plant to serve 75% of the electricity needs of its Alpena cement plant in Michigan. The company says that the installation at the Alpena plant will be the largest in the US Midwest Region. Holcim US chose NorthStar Clean Energy to build the array, which it says will eliminate 25,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

Other planned projects at the Alpena cement plant include an upgrade to the plant's dock in order to accommodate larger vessels and reduce the number of trips in its Great Lakes transport operations.

Holcim US' senior vice president, manufacturing, Michael Nixon said “As Holcim is showing in Alpena, the path to net-zero carbon emissions requires a blend of proactive solutions. Whether it’s using alternative fuels or implementing renewable energy from solar power, we are committed to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels — a goal that will benefit the environment as a whole and the Alpena community we have called home for more than 115 years.”

Myanmar: The new port of Sittwe in Rakhine State, which opened on 9 May 2023, has received a shipment of 20,000 bags of Indian cement. Press Trust of India News has reported that the shipment left Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata, West Bengal, in May 2023.

Türkiye: Marmara Çimento has secured environmental clearance to build a new cement plant at Çiftalan in Istanbul Region. PortsEurope News has reported that the plant is associated with a US$3.08m port construction project called the Çiftalan Marmara Cement Port project. Marmara Çimento submitted plans for the project in December 2021. The planned port will have sufficient berth for two 200m vessels to dock.

Marmara Çimento says that the upcoming Çiftalan plant will supply cement for use in the Kanal Istanbul Black Sea-Marmara shipping canal project.

India: The government of Andhra Pradesh broke ground on the construction of the 35.1Mt/yr-capacity Machilipatnam Port in Krishna District on 22 May 2023. The New Indian Express newspaper has reported that the project is scheduled for completion in mid-2025. When operational, the Port will handle despatches of cement and clinker by local producers.

Nigeria: Raw material costs for a group of major local manufacturers – including BUA Cement, Dangote Cement and Lafarge Africa – accounted for 24% of revenue in 2022. The increase in the cost of raw materials was driven by a shortage of foreign currency, raw material availability, logistics issues at ports and rising energy costs, according to the This Day newspaper. BUA Cement’s spending on raw materials rose by 9% year-on-year to US$54.3m in 2022, Dangote Cement’s spend grew by 12% to US$427m and Lafarge Africa’s expenditure increased by 32% to US$106m. The other companies included as part of the grouping included BUA Foods, Nestlé Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries and Dangote Sugar Refinery.

Tanzania: Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) plans to expand the capacity of the 54,000t/yr port of Kasanga on Lake Tanganyika in Rukwa Region. Mbeya Cement Company exports 42,000t/yr of cement via its terminal at the port to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. The port has been undergoing a US$1.92m upgrade to raise its berths due to rising water levels in Lake Tanganyika since April 2019.

The port of Kasanga generates revenues of US$34,200/yr for the TPA, primarily from Mbeya Cement Company’s export operations.

Mexico: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has accused the US government of funding environmentalists' challenges to the government's planned Tren Maya tourist railway project. AP News has reported that López Obrador has declared the project a matter of national security.

Cemex is currently embroiled in a dispute with Vulcan Materials subsidiary Sac-Tun over use of the latter's Punta Venado terminal in Quintana Roo. The terminal sits along the planned route of the Tren Maya line. The Mexican State Prosecutor's Office supported Cemex's re-entry into the terminal on 14 March 2023. The government previously rejected Sac-Tun's application to renew its quarrying licence for its quarry at the site of the terminal.

For more on this story, read our Global Cement Weekly analysis.