Displaying items by tag: planning

Bulgaria: Titan Cement subsidiary Zlatna Panega Cement plans to invest Euro11m in sustainability-enhancing upgrades to its Zlatnopanegki cement plant in Lovech Province. The work centres around a Euro7m alternative fuels (AF) upgrade, to raise the plant’s AF substitution rate to 70% from 50% in 2022. Besides this, the producer will also invest Euro4m in the construction of a solar power plant at the facility. The solar power plant is scheduled for commissioning in March 2024. General manager Adamantios Frantzis said that the plant will subsequently move on to its ‘next big project,’ consisting of a Euro35 – 50m upgrade, in 2026 – 2028.

Zlatna Panega Cement invested Euro5.7m in capital expenditure throughout 2022, more than double its investments of Euro2.6m in 2021. It is committed to interim CO₂ reduction targets of 5000t/yr (Scope 1) and 3000t/yr (Scope 2 and 3), and net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

India: The India Cements expects to commission the upgraded grinding unit at its Sankar Nagar cement plant in Tamil Nadu later in September 2023. Hindu BusinessLine News has reported that the producer is undertaking the upgrade in order to increase efficiency and lower the plant’s operating costs. The producer has hired US-based Boston Consulting Group to ascertain other possible improvements to three of its plants in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. At its Chilamkur cement plant in Andhra Pradesh, it is installing a waste heat recovery (WHR) system, scheduled for delivery in early 2024. FLSmidth and ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions are both reportedly conducting ‘detailed studies’ for possible future projects for The India Cements.

Malaysia: A court has granted Associated Pan Malaysia Cement (APMC) the right to evict Buddhist monks from the Gunung Kanthan caves monastery in Hulu Kinta, Perak. The land is part of a site where APMC has leased 146 hectares of land for limestone extraction. New Straits Times News has reported that the producer operates quarries in Zones A and B of the site, but has yet to commence extraction from Zones C and D. Local authorities had previously given assurance that mining operations ‘would not disturb’ the monastery.

Monks from the Thudong tradition established the Gunung Kanthan caves monastery across two caves in Gunung Kanthan hill in the early 20th century. Today, it contains numerous artefacts and works of art.

Mexico: US-based Vulcan Materials has accused Cemex of illegally entering and unloading materials at its Punta Venado terminal in Quintana Roo. Vulcan Materials' subsidiary Sac-Tun operates the terminal, which serves its nearby Playa del Carmen quarry. Sac-Tun previously provided handling and unloading services at the terminal for Cemex, under a contract which expired on 31 December 2022. A local court ruled in favour of Cemex in the dispute over its continued use of the facilities on 5 March 2023. A high court intervened with an injunction in favour of Vulcan Materials on 16 March 2023.

Vulcan Materials now plans to take further legal action, according to Forbes. It is currently engaged in another legal dispute against the Mexican government for the latter's refusal to renew Sac-Tun's licence to operate the Playa del Carmen quarry. The producer is seeking damages of US$78.9m. The government said that the quarry had ceased to operate in line with requirements under its environmental impact licence and local land use plans.

UK: The planning applications committee of Kent County Council has approved Hercules Enterprises' Euro46.5m plan for a new 500,000t/yr grinding plant at Sheerness Docks on the Isle of Sheppey. The Sheerness Times Guardian newspaper has reported that the council assented subject to the producer's adherence to its particulate and dust management plan and continual noise monitoring. When commissioned, the new plant will create 52 new jobs, generate up to 144 truck movements per day and increase traffic on the A249 by 1%.

Hercules Enterprises' director Stuart Mason Elliot said that the new facility will help to move cement production away from its reliance on road transport. He said “This is not an open, dated, dusty old operation, but a fully-enclosed, clean, modern, environmentally responsible and sustainable plant designed to be a good neighbour to residents and other occupants of the port.”

Mexico: GCC has made new appointments to the roles of project director, chief financial and planning officer and general counsel, effective immediately. Luis Carlos Arias will now serve as project director to the company's Odessa, US, cement plant expansion. Arias previously served as the group's chief financial officer. Maik Strecker steps into the role of chief financial and planning officer. Strecker joined GCC as chief planning officer in 2020. He has two decades' previous experience in roles spanning mergers and acquisitions, business development, product line management, operations and sales and marketing. Lastly, Cesar Conde will serve as GCC's general counsel. Conde has worked for the group since 2006.

GCC's CEO Enrique Escalante said "I am confident these executives bring proved strategic and execution leadership to the Company, and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead."

Malaysia: Cahya Mata Sarawak has informed its customers that its cement despatches will be 'back to normal' by 6 November 2022. The producer's closure of its 1Mt/yr Kuching cement plant for maintenance, followed by unexpected raw materials supply issues, has caused a shortage of cement in western Sarawak State. Bernama Daily Malaysian News has reported that a 14-day delay to raw materials deliveries to the Kuching plant ensued due to heavy rains.

The producer said “We would like to apologise for the shortage of cement, and will strive to ensure a steady supply of cement to all of our customers.”

Cahya Mata Sarawak has successfully maintained regular supply of cement to other areas of Sarawak, including Bintulu, Miri and Sibu, through despatches of cement from its Bintulu grinding plant.

South Korea: Hanil Cement has appointed its chief executive officer (CEO) and vice-president Jeon Gun-Sik as its president. He first joined the company in 1991, according to the Maeil Business Newspaper. He worked as the vice plant manager of the Danyang Plant, the head of the business planning department, the head of the business division and the executive vice-president of the head office of Hanil Hyundai Cement. Notably in 2017 he oversaw the acquisition of Hyundai Cement, a subsidiary now known as Hanil Hyundai Cement, that he also runs as CEO and president.

Peru: Grupo Gloria subsidiary Yura says that it is contemplating a cement production capacity expansion. The producer says that process optimisation across its Arequipa and Southern Peruvian cement footprint might go some way towards achieving the envisioned growth. It added that any such projects would go hand in hand with a reform of its customer service practices. Yura is also evaluating possible new limestone mining projects at Pampas del Pongo and Zafranal, and an expansion of its lime production.

DF Sud News has reported that Yura expects to increase its Peruvian cement deliveries by 8 – 10% year-on-year in 2022. Its cement, concrete and lime director for Peru, Chile and Bolivia, Julio Cáceres, forecasts that Peru’s construction demand will continue to grow at twice the rate of gross domestic product. He acknowledged that the company’s 2023 results will likely reflect the country’s expected muted growth compared to 2022. Cáceres said that US$700m-worth of private investment across 30 residential projects in Arequipa is currently suspended, pending the publication of the city’s revised metropolitan development plan.

UK: UK construction recorded its highest ever quarterly total value at Euro27.5bn in the first quarter of 2022. Participants in the industry agreed Euro10.4bn-worth of construction contracts in March 2022. Analyst Barbour ABI has reported that residential construction contracts rose by 50% month-on-month to Euro4.22bn, their highest level since the Covid-19 outbreak arrived in the UK in March 2020. Chief economist Tom Hall noted a year-on-year and month-on-month increase in office construction activity as indicative of a reversal of the home-working trend of the past two years.

Hall said “While the current state of the industry is positive with lots of activity and record-breaking levels of contracts awards and planning approvals in some areas, the horizon is more concerning. Overall, the level of planning applications received in March was low and raises questions about the delivery of the government’s commitment to raise the standard of healthcare across the country and its flagship levelling up agenda.”