Global Cement News

Russia: Eurocement Group has signed contracts with Chinese companies for equipment supplies, engineering, installation supervision and employee training totalling Euro387m.

"The contracts, which were signed on 20 May 2014, include the delivery of a complete set of equipment necessary for the construction of new cement dry-production lines," said Eurocement. The contracted supplies include mechanical equipment, furnaces, cyclone heat exchangers, crushers, and mills.

The equipment will be used for the construction of new cement plants with a total cement production capacity of 17Mt/yr in six regions of Russia: Leningrad, Ryazan, Bryansk, Arkhangelsk, Ulyanovsk and Samara regions. Eurocement currently operates 16 cement plants with 40Mt/yr of production capacity.

Chile: On 20 May 2014 the environmental committee of Chile's Santiago Metropolitan region admitted for evaluation a 20MW solar power project from Chilean cement producer Cemento Polpaico.

Cemento Polpaico plans to invest US$42m in the Cerro Blanco photovoltaic park, which will be installed next to its cement plant in the Tiltil Municipality. The park will help to diversify Chile's energy mix and will supply renewable energy to the central power network (SIC), through the Punta Peuco substation, according to the environmental impact declaration. Construction is projected to commence in 2014.

Russia: Lafarge opened a Euro500m cement plant in Kaluga on 19 May 2014. The plant is the group's biggest project in Russia so far, according to Andre Martin, Lafarge's president in Russia.

The plant has a cement production capacity of 2Mt/yr. Raw material will be sourced from the adjacent Borschovskoye field, which Lafarge calculates has enough reserves to last 50 years. All of the cement will be supplied to the domestic market.

"This is a very modern enterprise. Russia produces a lot of cement and it needs more and more of it to modernise old enterprises," said first deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov.

Lafarge is not planning to adjust its plans to develop business in Russia due to the Ukraine crisis, according to Martin. He said that Lafarge, which has been doing business in Russia since 1996, had long-term development plans for the Kaluga region.

Bulgaria: Bulgarian cement producer Devnya Cement plans to launch a new Euro160m production line with a cement production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr in September 2014. The plant, which is near the Black Sea port city of Varna, currently has a cement production capacity of 2.5Mt/yr. Devnya Cement was acquired by Italcementi in 1998.

Nigeria: The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has explained why the agency has restricted the use of 32.5 grade cement and why it has urged manufacturers to commence the production of 42.5 grade cement.

The director general of SON, Joseph Ikem Odumodu, said that the restriction placed on the use of low grade cement was important to mitigate the problem of building collapses in the country. It is estimated that from 1974 to 2010, collapsed buildings have claimed about 297 lives.

Odumodu said that Nigeria cannot afford to be a 'pariah state' on the issue of cement quality, adding that world's progressive countries have stopped using 32.5 grade cement. He said that SON has restricted the use of 32.5 grade cement and will enforce compliance.

Dangote Cement is the only company that currently produces 42.5 grade cement in Nigeria. Odumodu said that companies that have decided to continue 32.5 grade cement production have done so for profiteering.

SON had issued a directive that 52.5 grade cement must be used for bridges, 42.5 grade cement can be used for casting of columns, beams, slabs and for moulding blocks, while 32.5 grade cement can only be used for plastering.