Displaying items by tag: development
India: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has entrusted Ambuja Cement Foundation with responsibility for a new watershed development project in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi District. The work will support local farmers in increasing their production and productivity. It will be the 10th such project that Ambuja Cement Foundation has executed.
Director and CEO Pearl Tiwari said “Ambuja Cement Foundation has a long-standing relationship with NABARD, and we have been working together on watershed development in Himachal Pradesh for the past 14 years. With this new project, we are once again working to empower farmers of another district in the hilly region.”
US: The US Department of Energy has granted Solidia Technologies US$2.1m in funding for the development and testing of carbonation methods for its Solidia Cement. Solidia will research synthetic supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) production methods using direct CO2 capture and utilisation.
CEO Russell Hill said “We are proud to partner with the US Department of Energy to continue innovating and ultimately deliver on our mission to provide commercially viable decarbonisation technologies and sustainable solutions for the global construction and building materials industries. The funding will advance our carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies and synthetic SCMs that can be easily integrated into Portland cement-based concrete formulations, offering manufacturers a solution that is sustainable environmentally and economically.”
Colombia: Cementos Argos says that 368,000 people directly benefited from its social investment programmes in Colombia in 2021. During the year, the company invested US$4.56m in projects including its Hogares Saludables home improvement programme and its Via Forte road infrastructure programme. The Via Forte programme has laid 600km of road since 2017, while the Hogares Saludables programme aims to assist and improve over 10,000 homes by 2027.
India: Shree Cement has fired up the kiln of a new clinker line at its Raipur cement plant in Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that the company funded the project, involving the reactivation of the Raipur plant’s Kiln 3, from its internal accruals. It has also installed a new waste heat recovery (WHR) plant alongside the kiln. The line will augment Shree Cement’s supply of clinker to its grinding plants in Eastern India. It hopes thereby to contribute to growth and development in Chhattisgarh and beyond.
Pakistan: The Cabinet Committee on Legislative Business of the Punjab government has licenced the establishment of a new cement plant in the state. The News newspaper has reported that the committee also approved the expansion of two existing cement plants.
Southern Concrete Industries Corporation doubles planned capacity of upcoming Davao cement plant
11 February 2022Philippines: Southern Concrete Industries Corporation says that it has doubled the planned capacity of its upcoming US$195m Davao del Sur cement plant in Davao Region to 4Mt/yr. The Philippine Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) approved a two-year income tax holiday and five years of enhanced deductions for the plant and duty exemptions for its equipment on 18 January 2022. The tax breaks will come into effect when the company commissions the plant in July 2022. CEO Ramon Ang said that the enlarged capacity will help to reduce the region’s reliance on imported cement and support infrastructure development on Mindanao.
Spanish cement consumption rises to 14.9Mt in 2021
04 February 2022Spain: Spain’s cement demand grew by 11% year-on-year to 14.9Mt in 2021, up by 1.4% from pre-pandemic levels of 14.7Mt in 2019. The Spanish cement association Oficemen has forecast a 4.7% rise to 15.6Mt in 2022 due to an increase in approved housing units and infrastructure projects.
The El Economista newspaper has reported that Spanish cement production capacity utilisation was 50% in 2021. Production costs were approximately 25% higher the before the Covid-19 outbreak.
San Miguel Equity Investments granted tax incentives for construction of Mindanao cement plant
17 January 2022Philippines: The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) has approved the grant of tax incentives to San Miguel Equity Investments a for the construction of its 2Mt/yr Mindanao cement plant. The Manila Bulletin newspaper has reported that the producer will pay no tax on its income from the plant during its first two years of operations, and reduced taxes during the subsequent five years.
The FIRB said that it expects the US$195m plant to stimulate downstream businesses, promote the use of energy-efficient equipment and lead to a transfer of knowledge and increased productivity in the underdeveloped area where it will be located.
Saudi Aramco and China Building Materials Academy launch Nonmetallic Excellence and Innovation Center in Beijing
13 January 2022China: Saudi Aramco and China Building Materials Academy (CBMA) have launched the Nonmetallic Excellence and Innovation Center (NEXCEL) in Beijing. The centre will leverage CBMA's expertise and resources to promote the development and application of nonmetallic technologies offering superior lifecycle cost, efficiency and environmental performance to metal-based alternatives in Chinese construction.
Saudi Aramco’s senior vice president of technical services Ahmad Al-Sa'adi said “We are excited to be part of this important initiative with CBMA, to jointly advance the use of nonmetallics in building and construction in China. At Aramco, we have been developing and deploying nonmetallic solutions within our own operations for more than 20 years as they offer superior lifecycle cost, efficiency and environmental advantages over their metal alternatives.”
Sagar Cements commissions Jajpur grinding plant
11 January 2022India: Sagar Cements has announced the commissioning of its 1.5Mt/yr Jajpur grinding plant in Odisha. The plant commenced operations in early January 2022, slightly behind its scheduled December 2021 commissioning date. Jajpur Cements received clearance for the plant in September 2020 and invested US$41m in its construction.