12 June 2018
Suhar Cement back on track after delays 12 June 2018
Oman: Suhar Cement, the Sultanate's third cement plant after Oman Cement and Raysut Cement, will come into operation later in 2018, helping add to domestic production capacity and reduce the nation's dependence on imports.
The new facility, featuring a cement-grinding unit with a capacity of around 240t/hr, is being developed by a partnership between Sohar Cement (70% of the equity) and UAE-based Fujairah Cement Company (30%). Construction work on the plant is nearing completion at a site located within Phase 7 of Suhar Industrial Estate, one of several industrial parks administered by the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) around Oman.
The original plans to bring the new cement plant into operation by the first quarter of 2018 have been hamstrung by two key factors: 1. The absence of a paved road to provide suitable access to the site of the plant, and; 2. A lack of power supply to the site. Both impediments are being addressed by the relevant government agencies following the intervention of the Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit (ISFU) - a special task force of the Diwan of Royal Court overseeing the timely execution of a number of proposals and initiatives designed to spur the nation's economic diversification.
Significantly, the new Suhar Cement plant, along with a flurry of other cement plant projects planned in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Duqm, will go a long way in ramping up Oman's domestic cement production by 2021. By that year, and assuming all of the project proposals have progressed through to implementation and commissioning, Oman is projected to be self-sufficient in meeting its domestic cement requirements. At present, Oman is dependent on imports for just over half of its cement demand.
Trucker strike hits Votorantim in May 2018 12 June 2018
Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos, Brazil's largest producer of cement and other construction materials, is still evaluating its production loss after a recent 11 day truck drivers' strike, as well as calculating the impact of minimum freight prices. Brazil’s cement sector is highly dependent on road transport, with 96% of total shipments leaving plants by road, around 54Mt/yr.
"(The strike) will certainly impact the company's annual production," Walter Dissinger, Votorantim Cimentos president said. He added that Votorantim’s cement sales fell nearly 20% in May.
CRC profit to increase 12 June 2018
China: China Resources Cement (CRC) has said that it expects its profit attributable to the owners for the six months ending 30 June 2018 to significantly increase compared to the corresponding period of 2017. The expected growth was primarily attributable to the higher selling prices of cement products during the period, which rose by 33.4% year-on-year.
Council reverses decision to buy Westport assets 12 June 2018
New Zealand: The Buller District Council has backed out of plans to buy Holcim Cement’s former Westport plant assets and land on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, including a water supply and treatment plant, a quarry, land, silos and a packing plant.
Buller District Mayor Garry Howard said that the council has been negotiating for over a year on US$3.5m deal, but concerns over the Cape Foulwind site led to it abandoning its plans. He said that buying the former cement plant site could have made the council liable for remediation of the land. Howard says the council had been keen to get the quarry as a source of rock for river and coastal protection.
Westport lost over 100 jobs when Holcim closed the cement plant in 2016, after 58 years of operation.
Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan intends to become self sufficient in all building materials, according to the country’s Deputy Minister of Economy Niyazi Safarov, who was speaking during the recent Azerbaijan-EU Business Forum in Baku.
"Today, Azerbaijan is fully self-sufficient in many types of building materials, for example cement and brick,” said Safarov. "The development of the construction sector allows the creation of new jobs, attracts investment and increases demand in other sectors of the economy.”