
Displaying items by tag: contractor
Nepal construction sector hit by rising cement prices
10 December 2024Nepal: Construction activities in Nepal have been impacted as a result of private cement manufacturers raising prices, allegedly through cartelisation, according to Online Khabar news. According to Ravi Singh, president of the Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal, contractors are struggling to purchase cement at the increased rates.
He said “On one hand, contractors have not been paid for completed projects, and on the other, rising cement prices have pushed many to consider halting construction altogether.”
He accused manufacturers of cutting production by up to 40% to create an artificial shortage, calling it “a tactic to manufacture scarcity and exploit the situation.”
Many contractors have already stopped purchasing cement at the new prices. Cement producers defended the price rise, claiming it corrects previous underpricing caused by ‘unhealthy competition’. The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection has held discussions with producers, giving them seven days to justify the price hike and submit their price lists.
Holcim appoints BESIX and DENYS for plant upgrade
21 November 2024Belgium: Holcim has selected the joint venture between BESIX and DENYS as the main contractor for the civil works of the upgrade at its Obour, Mons, plant. The GO4ZERO project will produce nearly 2.3Mt/yr of carbon-neutral cementitious materials by 2029. In a separate contract, BESIX’s subsidiary Franki Foundations is handling the deep foundations. Work began in August 2024 and will conclude in February 2025.
Death at cement plant in Kinta District
17 August 2023Malaysia: Police reported the death of a man at a cement plant in Kinta District on 16 August 2023. The 26-year-old contractor had been cleaning hardened cement from a silo through its manhole, when he fell in and was submerged by cement. Medical staff pronounced him dead after his arrival at hospital. Perak State Occupational Safety and Health Department has issued a stop-work notice to the contractor.
Cement plants in Kinta District include Aalborg Portland Malaysia’s Aalborg Perak plant, Malayan Cement’s Kanthan plant and Tasek Cement’s Tasek cement plant.
Nigeria: BUA Cement’s Sokoto cement plant has resumed operations following a fire that killed three workers. The Sun newspaper has reported that the fire began at a diesel storage tank depot near to the plant, where third-party contract workers were welding a diesel storage tank. The group said that it activated a swift response in order to prevent any escalation of the incident.
India: Employees of a contract firm working at Dalmia Cement’s Bokaro grinding plant in Jharkhand have allegedly killed a worker in an attack on 15 March 2022. The deceased’s roommate has also been missing since then. Both workers had been in trouble with their employer for refusing to work overtime. Operations reportedly continued as normal at the plant until other loading workers began a protest on 16 March 2022.
Dalmia Cement spokesperson Shyamlal Sahu said “The matter was brought to the notice of local police and they have started their probe. We are cooperating with them to bring the culprits to justice. We will work with the contractor – Durga Enterprises – to extend support to the bereaved family. We, at Dalmia Bharat, accord highest priority to maintaining internal harmony and a healthy working environment, and will work with our contractors towards ensuring that such untoward incidents do not happen in the future.”
Holcim Argentina contractors cause hotel lockdown
20 July 2020Argentina: Employees of two companies hired by LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim Argentina to carry out maintenance work at its suspended 2.4Mt/yr integrated Malagueño plant in Córdoba Province have taken up residence at the Hotel Uruguay in the resort town of Villa Carlos Paz, causing the hotel to lock down because they did not have the proper certification from the Centro de Operaciones de Emergencias (COE) provincial coronavirus lockdown authority.
The El Diario de Carlos Paz newspaper has reported that the workers, from Olavarría and San Nicolás, Buenos Aires Province, planned to remain locked down in the hotel for fourteen days. Due to their lack of COE certification, Villa Carlos Paz security locked down the hotel while coronavirus tests are carried out. Holcim Argentina manager of corporate affairs Belén Dagher said, “Following our application in June 2020, the COE and the Municipality of Malagueño gave us the authorisation for the arrival of the workers. The companies hired the hotel, and negative coronavirus tests for all workers were sent to the relevant authorities.” He added, “We are making a special space for them to stay at the plant.”
Holcim Argentina is carrying out essential maintenance work on the Malagueño plant, which is scheduled to reopen in mid-to-late 2020.
US: A lawsuit raised by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against CCC Group alleges that black construction workers were subject to racial discrimination and harassment during the construction company’s work on an upgrade at the Lafarge Ravena cement plant in 2016. The EEOC says that the workers were the target of racial language, were threatened and made to carry out more dangerous and physically taxing tasks. It added that it only took legal action after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the agency’s conciliation process.
CCC Group says it investigated the claims from one former employee in 2017 about ‘inappropriate comments’ after it was reported to the EEOC. However, it says that the complaint was never reported internally and that the EEOC refused to share information about the allegations. Subsequently, it was unable to determine what happened. The construction company only became aware of the other allegations when the EEOC filed its lawsuit in June 2020. CCC Group said, “We take all such allegations very seriously and continue to thoroughly investigate these claims. Regardless, CCC Group will continue its commitment to ensure that any such conduct is not tolerated or allowed to occur in our workplaces.”
800 workers were involved in the upgrade to the plant in New York State, which brought it to its present integrated capacity of 2Mt/yr.
This story was updated on 16 June 2020 following comment from CCC Group
Libya: The Libyan Army’s spokesman Colonel Ahmed Mismari says that the Libyan Cement Company hired contractors from the Russian security company RSB Group to clear mines at its Benghazi plant, according to Russian Sputnik news agency. The clarification came in response to reports by Reuters that regional leader Khalifa Haftar had hired the contractors directly. Libyan Air Force Brigadier General Mohammed Manfour confirmed to Sputnik that Libya had no contracts with Russian private military companies. He added that the Libyan cement company had an agreement with a British insurance company that required it to clear the plant from mines, explosives and other remnants of military operations.