Global Cement News

Sri Lanka: Harsha Cabral, the chairman of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka), says that the company has taken several immediate measures to address a local cement shortage. He said in a statement that it is operating its grinding plant at Trincomalee at its full capacity of around 170,000t/month, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper. He added that the company had been importing 30,000t/month of bulk cement through the Tokyo Cement Colombo Terminal. It had also, following a request by the government, made arrangements to import an additional 12,000t /month of cement as a contingency measure. However, Cabral, noted that the cement shortage was due to a variety of reasons beyond the control of the company. These included a lack of bulk cargo ships and delays in opening credit letters with local banks.

Sweden: Cementa says it is preparing to ration deliveries of cement in December 2021 due to uncertainty about whether it can renew the mining licence at its integrated Slite plant in Gotland beyond the end of October 2021. The subsidiary of Germany-based HeidelbergCement has warned customers that it is preparing to implement quotas of cement products from its two plants and five terminals on a week-by-week basis. The quotas will be based on what level of cement customers have ordered previously over the past 36 months. It will also take into account whether there have been significant volume changes during the period.

Cementa says it submitted its application for an emergency permit in late September 2021. It needs approval from the government by mid-November 2021 to avoid a potential cement shortage. However, any such approval may be subject to an appeal leading to further delays in mining.

Tanzania: HeidelbergCement has signed an agreement to acquire 68% of Tanga Cement shares. Upon closing the deal in early - mid-2022, the group plans to make a public tender offer for the remaining outstanding shares in Tanga Cement.

HeidelbergCement already owns Tanzania Portland Cement, which operates a 2Mt/yr cement plant in Dar Es Salaam. Tanga Cement’s 1.3Mt/yr Tanga plant is situated in the north of the country.

Kenya: Cement companies are in the process of expanding their total clinker production capacity by 70% to 10.7Mt/yr by 2023 from 6.3Mt/yr. The Business Daily newspaper has reported that six producers – Bamburi Cement, East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), Karsan Ramji & Sons, National Cement, Rai Cement and Savannah Cement – will add a total of 4.4Mt/yr to their clinker capacities.

Global Cement News previously reported that Kenya faced a 3.3Mt/yr national clinker shortage on 13 October 2021. Domestic producers are in the process of lobbying the government to raise the duty on imports of clinker to 25% from 10%.

China: China Shanshui Cement has increased its nine-month consolidated sales by 15% year-on-year to US$2.75bn in 2021 from US$2.40bn. It net profit in the period fell by 24% to US$279m from US$365m.