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Siam Cement Group spends US$386m on first cement plant in Myanmar 04 September 2013
Myanmar: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has announced that it will build a 1.8Mt/yr greenfield cement plant costing US$386m in Mawlamyine, Myanmar. The plant will include a 40MW captive power plant, a 9MW waste heat recovery system, supporting port facilities and other infrastructures for future expansion.
"The Myanmar cement market is estimated at approximately 4Mt in the 2012 financial year and is forecasted to grow at 10%/yr over the next five years," said president and CEO of SCG, Kan Trakulhoon.
Built under Myanmar's Foreign Investment Law, the cement plant is expected to start in mid-2016.
Pakistan defends quality of its cement exported to South Africa 04 September 2013
South Africa: Cement imports from Pakistan to South Africa will continue and are expected to increase, says Qamar Zaman, commercial secretary at the High Commission of Pakistan in South Africa.
In 2012, issues were raised about the quality of Pakistani cement but Zaman said that lower prices gave his country's imports a competitive edge. South Africa consumes about 12Mt/yr of cement, with imports sitting at 5%, according to Stanlib analyst Anashrin Pillay.
Multinational cement producer Lafarge complained publicly about Pakistani imports of cement into South Africa in mid-2012, mentioning poor quality and incorrectly packaged quantities. Zaman defended Pakistani cement, saying over the past decade it had been refined and the production processes were now 'of a high standard.'
MacGregor secures carrier order for Taiheiyo Engineering 04 September 2013
Finland: MacGregor has secured a new order for autonomous loading and unloading systems for an 8700DWT cement carrier to be built for Japanese ship-owner Taiheiyo Kisen Kaisha. The cement handling systems are designed to carry three grades of cement at a rated capacity of 1000t/hr.
"The totally enclosed cement handling arrangements will ensure flexible, efficient and clean cargo operations," says Anders Berencsy, Sales Manager, Selfunloaders at MacGregor.
Cargotec subsidiary MacGregor provides engineering solutions and services for handling marine cargoes and offshore loads.
Siam City Cement cancels US$150m cement plant in Cambodia 04 September 2013
Cambodia: Siam City Cement (SCCC) has cancelled a US$150m cement plant project in Cambodia due to political uncertainty, according to the Bangkok Post. The Thai cement producer is considering building a cement plant in Myanmar instead.
Philippe Arto, managing director of SCCC, said that the board has decided to 'put on the shelf' the plan to build a 1Mt/yr cement plant in Cambodia after finishing a feasibility study. SCCC, which is 27.5% owned by Holcim, signed a memorandum of agreement with Cambodia's Chip Mong Group for the study in late 2010. Under the previous plan, construction of the Cambodian cement plant was due to start around the end of 2013 and take two years to complete.
SCCC is looking at the possibility of pushing forward a cement project in Myanmar, where the market is sizeable and the economy is growing substantially. SCCC has placed no timeline for its Myanmar project.
Liberian government to sue Cemenco 04 September 2013
Liberia: The Liberian government, through the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) is preparing to take legal action against the Liberia Cement Corporation (Cemenco) for allegations of pollution from its operations in Monrovia.
"We have completed all medical examinations on dozens of residents in the Belema Community. Doctors have established that indeed the cement dust being produced by the company is responsible for their disability and lung infections," said INCHR Commissioner, James D Torh. He added that the INCHR was resolved to reap millions of dollars in damages for residents dating as far back as the time CEMENCO was established in 1968.