12 April 2017
India: Ambuja Cement, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, supplied over 0.3Mt of cement for the Chenani-Nashri tunnel project that was opened in early April 2017. The company’s technical services teams provided technical support for the project by conducting cement mix design trials to achieve optimised mix proportion. It also held self-compacting concrete workshops to aid engineers and to provide support at the construction site to identify, diagnose and resolve problems. The group started providing materials to the project in 2010.
The new 9km single tube bi-directional Chenani-Nashri tunnel with a parallel intermediate lane escape tunnel of 29 cross passages, is considered one of the most challenging infrastructure projects in India in recent years. It is intended to make road travel safer and reduce traffic disturbances caused by unpredictable landslides, sharp bends, vehicle breakdowns and accidents on the existing mountainous route.
China: BBMG’s net profit for the first quarter of 2017 expected to at least double to US$55m from US$21m in the same quarter in 2016. The cement producer says the jump in profit is due to bookings for its property development business, although it added that an increase in cement and clinker prices had also contributed. The company’s shares bounced in early April 2017 following the announcement of the Xiongan New Area special economic development zone.
Meghna Cement Mills to install new mill 12 April 2017
Bangladesh: Meghna Cement Mills has signed a contract with Denmark’s FLSmidth to install a vertical roller mill with a production capacity of 2Mt/yr. The contract has been valued at US$15.7m and it will be installed by mid-2019, according to the Daily Star newspaper. The cement producer is taking loans from the Infrastructure Development Company to pay for the upgrade. Meghna Cement Mills operates a 1.2Mt/yr plant at the Port of Mongla. It markets its cement under the King Brand Cement line.
Bestway cancels bid for Dewan Cement plant 12 April 2017
Pakistan: Bestway Cement has cancelled its acquisition of Dewan Cement's north plant. It blamed the cancellation on delays and uncertainty following related legal proceedings at the Sindh High Court.
US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded CalPortland with a 2017 Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for energy efficiency achievements. CalPortland’s accomplishments will be recognized by the EPA and the Department of Energy in Washington, DC on 26 April 2017.
Its key 2016 accomplishments include a reduction of its energy intensity by 1.1% in 2016 compared to business as usual in 2015 which resulted in over US$682,000 in savings and a reduction of 14,234Mt of CO2. The company initiated a new ‘CalPortland Energy Cup’ competition that compares and quantifies energy practices and performance of its three cement plants. All three CalPortland cement plants scored in the top quartile of the Energy Performance Indicators (EPI) benchmarking tool. The Rillito plant has been certified for the past five years in a row.
CalPortland has also completed several large energy saving projects including the installation of a new US$9m clinker cooler at the Rillito cement plant, a US$14m Anchorage terminal storage dome and a US$2m preheater duct replacement at the Mojave cement plant.
Caribbean Cement granted permission to import cement 12 April 2017
Jamaica: The government has granted Caribbean Cement permission to import cement from Trinidad & Tobago in order to resolve local supply issues. The cement producer will procure cement from its subsidiary Trinidad Cement, according to the Jamaica Observer newspaper. Caribbean Cement has reported technical issues with its packing plant which have led to it being unable to support the local retail market. It has also suspended all exports.