China: China National Building Material (CNBM) subsidiary New Tianshan Cement plans to increase its stake in Ningxia Building Materials to 51% from 49% for US$373m. Reuters has reported that New Tianshan Cement will raise funds through the issuance of US$971m-worth of commercial papers.
Further to the restructuring, CNBM will enlarge its stake in Ningxia Building Materials subsidiary Ningxia Saima by 12%.
France: Vicat says that it will commission its planned 100% carbon capture system at its Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant ‘before 2030,’ and possibly as soon as 2027. The Les Echos newspaper has reported that the system will have a capture capacity of 1Mt/yr of CO2, although the plant’s emissions are currently 800,000t/yr. Captured CO2 may then be transported by barge, train or pipeline to the port of Fos-sur-Mer.
When commissioned, the upcoming carbon capture system will reduce the CO2 emissions of cement produced at the Montalieu-Vercieu plant by 94% to 40kg/t.
Bangladesh: Premier Cement Mills has installed an 11,000t/day vertical roller mill (VRM) at its West Mukterpur grinding plant in Munshiganj. The producer said that the expansion will more than double the grinding plant’s capacity to 7Mt/yr.
Energy & Power News has reported that Premier Cement Mills took a loan worth US$32.4m for the construction of the new mill.
Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has launched the Eco Label brand, as part of its wider UniCem brand, to promote its sustainable products. Products within the new branding have a lower 30% carbon footprint compared to the local industry standard. The formal unveiling of the new branding took place at the Mfamosing cement plant in Calabar.
Khaled El Dokani, the chief executive officer of Lafarge Africa, said “Lafarge Africa is proud to be the first local cement manufacturer of eco-friendly cement to the Nigerian market. With the rollout of this Eco brand, we are accelerating the transition to more sustainable building materials for greener construction.”
