Displaying items by tag: railway
Angola: Fabrica de Cimento do Kwanza Sul (FCKS) has started selling its Yetu cement product in Luau, Moxico province. 400t of the product has been transported via the Benguela railway as part of a sales expansion drive, according to the Angola Press Agency. Huambo and Bié will be targeted next.
FCKS plant shut down in November 2017 and reopened in April 2018. The unit is planning to increase its production capacity to 10,000t/day from 5000t/day in the next stage of its improvement scheme.
India: Shree Cement is to buy Raipur Handling & Infrastructure for US$8.9m. The railway company operates a railway terminal at Hathbandh in Chhattisgarh near to the cement producer's plant at Baloda Bazar. The acquisition is expected help Shree Cement manage its railway logistics better.
India: South Central Railway has signed a long-term tariff contract with Ramco Cements and Zuari Cements to transport freight at fixed rates. Ramco and Zuari have signed agreements for five and three years respectively. The railway company has previously signed similar deals with UltraTech Cement, India Cements, Orient Cements and Kesoram Industries.
Kenya: East African Portland Cement plans to build a railway terminal at Athi River near its integrated cement plant. The depot will be used to help deliver raw materials by train on the Standard Gauge Railway to the plant, according to the Business Daily newspaper. Managing director Simon Peter ole Nkeri said that his company relies ‘heavily’ on imported clinker. The cement producer is holding discussions with the government about the project.
Malaysia: Lafarge Malaysia has won a US$68.9m contract from China Communications Construction to supply cement for the East Coast Rail Link project. The contract will run until the end of 2019 with options for renewal by a further two years.
China: Anhui Conch Cement has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Railway Materials Trading, a subsidiary of China Railway Group. Yu Shui, the assistant general manager of Anhui Conch, and Xiao Song, deputy general manager of China Railway Materials Trade Group, signed the agreement. Anhui Conch plans to establish a supply chain agreement with the state-owned company.
LafargeHolcim deal boosts freight rates for Zambia Railways
19 September 2017Zambia: A contract with LafageHolcim has boosted Zambia Railways freight rate by 28% year-on-year to 318,000t in the first half of 2017 from 247,000t in the same period of 2016. The railway company attributed the increase to a new contract with LafargeHolcim, according to the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper. It also cited rising coal imports from Zimbabwe for ‘booming’ cement production in Zambia, as well as more business in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Indian cement industry sitting on 100Mt of excess capacity
18 September 2017India: The Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) says that the local cement industry has 100Mt/yr of excess production capacity out of a total 425Mt/yr. The sector is sitting on over US$9.4bn of ‘sunk investment in surplus capacities’ but the CMA expects infrastructure schemes including railway projects to increase demand, according to the Press Trust of India. CMA President Shailendra Chouksey added that initiatives such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train could raise cement consumption by 3 – 5Mt/yr.
In separate comments M P Rawal, the company administrator of JK Cements, confirmed the CMA’s assessment of the sector by saying that a slowdown in the construction industry in 2016 had led to a 70% utilisation rate of the country’s cement plants. He expected the same situation to persist in 2017. However, he warned that one bullet train project was unlikely to have a big impact on the situation.
Ohorongo Cement opens terminal at Ondangwa
21 August 2017Namibia: Ohorongo Cement has opened a US$0.3m terminal at Ondangwa in the north of the country. Clemens H Kashuupulwa, the governor of Oshana Region, officiated at the event. The depot is intended to target the four northern regions in Namibia as well as export cement to southern Angola. The site follows a Private Public Partnership agreement with TransNamib to lease land at Ondangwa railway station, and is part of the Northern Railway Extension project that extends from Tsumeb to Oshikango. It will distribute various cement types, including CEM II 42.5 N, CEM I 42.5 R, CEM II 32.5 N B-LL for the local market. It will also ship CEM II 42.5 N with Portuguese labelling for Angola.
Holcim Romania opens cement terminal at Roman
12 July 2017Romania: Holcim Romania has opened a Euro0.5m cement terminal in the town of Roman in Neamț County. The new unit will mainly supply cement to customers in the Moldovan region of the country. The 13,120m2 terminal has a railway connection and loading equipment for both bulk and bagged cement.