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Ibeto and Nigercem ownership dispute continues 07 January 2015
Nigeria: The Ebonyi State Government in Nigeria has warned Ibeto Cement Company over an alleged illegal entry into the premises of Nigercem cement premises located at Nkalagu. The entry was perceived as an act of provocation by governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State, as Nigercem is still subject of an ownership dispute in the courts.
"Following dispute between the State government and Ibeto Group on the ownership of Nigercem, Ebonyi State Government exercised its illegal right of land ownership by revoking the certificate of all the land upon which Nigercem is situated," said Elechi. "By going into the premises of Nigercem without the permission of the State Government, the Ibeto Group has demonstrated an alarming desire to acquire the God-given mineral wealth of Ebonyi people for its interest".
Eastern Bulkcem Nigeria Limited owns a 65% stake in Nigercem. The origins of the current dispute arise from Eastern Bulkcem's failure to modernise the ageing plant, instead opting to use its ownership of the plant to obtain import licences for bulk cement. The Ebonyi State Government resorted to extra-judicial means to shut it down, revoking Nigercem's certificate of occupancy pending a Judicial Commission to investigate the state of affairs in the company.
Vietnam: The World Bank is expected to provide US$200m in loans for Vietnamese cement plants to invest in waste heat recovery (WHR) systems according to the Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA). The VNCA said the financing pledge is part of the bank's programme to finance efficient energy consumption for the local cement industry.
At present only Holcim and Ha Tien 2 in southern Vietnam, and Chinfon and Cong Thanh in northern Vietnam have invested in WHR systems. In April 2014 the VNCA admitted that there had been a delay to build WHR systems in all cement plants with a clinker production capacity of 2500t/day by 2015.
Four killed in scaffold collapse at Sinai Cement plant 07 January 2015
Egypt: Four workers were killed and at least 35 others were injured on 27 December 2014 when a scaffold collapsed in the Sinai Cement plant in central Sinai. Sinai Cement denied that it had a connection with the accident in a statement.
Greek Supreme Court orders Heracles General Cement to pay village Euro78,000 for pollution 07 January 2015
Greece: The Supreme Court of Greece has ordered the Heracles' General Cement Company, a subsidiary of Lafarge, to pay the residents of Agia Marina, Halkida Euro78,000 as compensation for pollution from its cement plant.
The court upheld the settlement's arguments that the cement plant had failed
to adhere to the environmental terms in its operating licence in order to avoid the relevant costs and refused to take measures for the proper maintenance and modernisation of its facilities. They said this resulted in all outdoor areas in the village being covered in a layer of cement dust up to 1.2cm thick, including the nearby coastline.
The village residents had originally sued for a total of Euro1.14m but the court awarded the residents a much lower sum, even though it found that the company's omissions fully justified their claim to moral damages resulting from their deprivation of environmental benefits and the threat to their health from exposure to environmental pollution.
Belarus government to repay cement companies’ debts to China 07 January 2015
Belarus: The Belarusian government will acquire additional stakes in three cement companies in exchange for helping them to repay loans to China's Eximbank. The Council of Ministers has issued a directive that provides for restructuring the overdue debts incurred by Belarusian Cement Plant, Krychawtsementnashyfer and Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly as of 1 October 2014.
The three cement producers will receive the bailout on condition that they meet their profitability of sales targets for 2015 and fulfil their obligations to Eximbank starting 2015. Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly, Belarusian Cement Plant and Krychawtsementnashyfer owe US$34.4m, US$43.7m and US$50.6m to the Chinese bank, respectively, in overdue loan payments.