Global Cement News

Vietnam: Xuan Thanh has hired Denmark’s FLSmidth to provide five onsite advisors with the purpose of optimising the production of its cement plant while minimising the production costs. The customer's 12,500t/day cement plant is located in Ha Nam, Vietnam, and is the largest cement plant in South East Asia. FLSmidth has also supplied the equipment for the cement plant since 2017.

"By implementing best practices and data from other cement plants globally, we can assist Xuan Thanh in improving their output while minimising their production costs. In other words we will enhance their productivity. This contract is a continuation of the long-standing partnership between Xuan Thanh and FLSmidth and will optimise the production of high quality cement to the local market," said Per Mejnert Kristensen, Group Executive Vice President, Cement Division of FLSmidth.

Zambia: ZCCM-Investment Holding, an investment company owned by the Zambian government plans to start work on a US$680m cement plant later in 2018. ZCCM-Investment Holding chief executive officer Pius Kasolo said that drilling tests had been completed at the site, according to the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper. Construction of the plant is expected to take two to three years once the finance for the project is secured and feasibility studies are completed.

Mozambique: Cimentos de Mocambique has denied increased the price of its cement products. At a press conference in Nampula Jorge Reis, the managing director of Cimentos de Mocambique, said that his company had nothing to do with the ‘sharp’ increases in the price of cement charged by retailers, according to the Mozambique News Agency. Reis said that the cement producer had not raised its prices since late 2016. He added that the company’s Nacala plant had been affected by an irregular electricity supply. It is currently negotiating with its electricity supplier to improve its service. Retailers have blamed the price hike on an alleged shortage of cement and difficulties in acquiring it from cement plants.

The Provincial Director of Trade and Industry, Norberto Narciso, said that information from Cimentos de Mocambique would be distributed to businesses in Nampula and in the neighbouring province of Niassa, which also acquires cement from Nacala. He also promised that the government’s National Inspectorate of Economic Activities would check the retail price of cement to see whether the retailers are respecting the ‘recommended profit margins’.

India: Ramco Cements has entered into an agreement with Ramco Industries, a fellow subsidiary of Ramco Group, to buy a 216,000t/yr grinding plant at Kharagpur in West Bengal. The deal covers the land and equipment at the site. The cement producer will pay US$2.6m as part of the agreement.

Sri Lanka: The Sri Lanka Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has allowed Insee Cement and Tokyo Cement to increase the prices of a 50kg bag of cement. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce gave its approval subject to the ratification of the CAA as it is a price-controlled commodity, according to the Times of Sri Lanka newspaper. The cement producers made the request to raise their prices due to increasing costs of raw materials. However, the country’s three other producers have not made any request to the CAA to raise their prices and the cost of imported cement is reported unchanged.