16 February 2017
Indian power company NTPC seeks partners to build cement plants 16 February 2017
India: NTPC is looking for cement producers to help it build cement plants to take advantage of its fly ash and electricity. The power generation company is asking cement producers to submit expressions of interest for partnerships to build 1Mt/yr cement plants near its power stations, according to the Times of India. Partners will have to source their fly ash from NTPC but will be responsible for marketing their own products. NTPC has previously tried to enter the cement market since 2008 with both partners including the Cement Corporation of India and on its own. It produces 65Mt/yr of fly ash.
Belgium: Cembureau has issued it support for the decision by the European Parliament to amend the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The European cement association has welcomed the decision that its says does not ‘deliberately discriminate between sectors and to apply a fact-based approach to policymaking.’ It added that the changes would make European industry more CO2 efficient, while maintaining its competitiveness.
Particular parts of the decision it welcomes include the inclusion of dynamic allocation, a benchmark with a minimum reduction of 0.25%, the introduction of a 5% flexible reserve in relation to the allowances available for free and those designated for auctioning and the impetus given to funding for carbon capture and use. It added that it was pleased to see that the amendments for an importer inclusion scheme, which it viewed were targeted at the cement sector, were not accepted. Finally, it reinforced its call for a ‘sector-neutral’ policy that does not differentiate between industries.
Uzbekistan: Russia’s Eurocement has signed an agreement with Uzqurilishmateriallari to build a 2.4Mt/yr cement plant. It is scheduled for completion by 2020. The new plant will be Eurocement’s second plant in the country and it will increase its total cement production capacity to over 4Mt/yr. Eurocement already owns a 84% stake in Uzbekistan’s second largest cement producer Akhangaracement after purchasing a 76% stake in it from Switzerland’s Zeromax in 2006.