10 July 2017
Cambodia: Aidan Lynam, the chief executive officer of Chip Mong Insee Cement, expects that the Kampot cement plant will sell its first cement by the end of 2017. The US$262m plant is about to be commissioned, according to the Phnom Penh Post newspaper. A ramp-up period will then follow, with full production levels at the unit expected by the end of the first quarter of 2018. The subsidiary of Thailand’s Siam Cement Group has also launched the Camel Cement brand, which will be produced at the new plant.
Chile: Cementos Bío Bío is to stop producing clinker at its Talcahuano cement plant. The cement producer has also laid off a third of its workforce, according to Pura Noticia. It now plans to import clinker from Asia instead, which it says, will reduce its production costs by US$19/t. The company started cement production at Talcahuano in 1961.
Paraguay: Jorge Mendez, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Industria Nacional de Cemento (INC), has said that the Senate has passed a bill for the use of domestically-produced cement in road works carried out by the government. The bill now needs final approved from the government, according to La Nacion newspaper. If approved, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications is expected to build 15% of its works with locally produced cement from 2018, before gradually increasing this to 30% subsequently.
The cement producer has assured the government that it can meet the demand. It also expects to be able to double its cement production in October 2017 with the launch of a new cement grinding plant at Villeta.
France: Hazemag has completed the installation of Primary Sizer HCS 1020 at Lhoist Group’s Dugny lime plant. The project was a retrofit replacing a jaw crusher. The new unit is expected to increase production by 20% and to improve grain shape.
Zambia and Sinoconst to build US$548m cement plant 10 July 2017
Zambia: President Edgar Lungu has launched a US$548m cement plant project to be built in Ndola by the government and China’s Sinoconst. The plant will be a joint venture between the government-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM) and Sinoconst, according to Reuters. The project is intended to diversify the country’s industries away from copper mining. The unit will have a cement production capacity of 5000t/day and will use two 20MW captive coal-power plants.