Displaying items by tag: Upgrade
Lafarge Canada completes upgrade at Exshaw cement plant
13 September 2016Canada: Lafarge Canada has announced the completion of modernisation and environmental upgrades at its Exshaw cement plant in Alberta. The plant has increased its cement production capacity to 2.2Mt/yr from 1.3Mt/yr. Environmental improvements have led to a 60% reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions, a 40% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and a reduction in fugitive dust and noise coming from the plant's equipment. The plant has also achieved zero water discharge from its operations.
"It is an incredible achievement to comple a project of this scale. Completing it safely takes focus and energy and I applaud the team for its dedication to this goal," said René Thibault, President and CEO, Lafarge, Western Canada. "By all accounts we consider the project to be a success, cementing our long term commitment to Exshaw, Alberta and western Canada."
The upgrade consisted of shutting down the plant’s kiln four in November 2015. It modernised kiln five to meet new emissions targets by retiring less efficient gravel-bed filter technology. It then built a new production line, kiln six, with a baghouse to collect particulates, as well as a vertical raw mill, a EcoDome storage facility, a pre-heater tower and a vertical cement mill.
Construction at the plant began in 2013, with more than 600 contracted employees on site at the peak of construction activity in addition to 160 permanent employees. The team achieved nearly three million hours without a lost time incident.
ACC to expand Jamul and Sindri plants
30 August 2016India: ACC plans to expand its plants at Jamul in Chhattisgarh and Sindri in Jharkhand as part of a US$447m capital project intended to increase the company's production capacity by 5Mt/yr to 35Mt/yr. The project will also include building a ‘couple of new plants’ according to comments made by KN Rao, Director - Energy and Environment, to the Hindu newspaper. Following the upgrades the Jmaul cement plant will have a clinker capacity of 2.79Mt/yr and a cement grinding capacity of 1.1Mt/yr. The Sindri unit will have a grinding capacity of 1.35Mt/yr.
KCP Cement to expand Muktyala plant
30 August 2016India: KCP Cement is set to build a new production line at its Muktyala cement plant in Andhra Pradesh. The company intends to invest US$60m towards increasing the unit's production capacity to 3.52Mt/yr from 1.86Mt/yr. The upgrade will be completed by the end of 2017, according to the Hindu newspaper. Other planned works include spending US$7.4m towards building railway sidings for the plant.
Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement has commenced trial operation at the second production line of its Bishah cement plant. The trial operation will continue until the plant reaches a contractual design capacity of 5000t/day of clinker. Once the trial is complete the plant's production capacity from its three lines will reach 33,000t/day of clinker. The company noted in a statement that there are neither expected costs nor financial impact for this trial operation. The date of full operation will be announced later.
Arghakhanchi Cement plant prepares for US$38.5m upgrade
26 August 2016Nepal: Arghakhanchi Cement plans to spend US$38.5m to increase both its clinker and cement production capacities to 3000t/day by October 2017. At present the plant has a clinker capacity of 1200t/day and a cement capacity of 1000t/day, according to the Kathmandu Post. Managing director Rajesh Agrawal added that the company has signed a deal worth US$9.32m to order vertical roller mills from FLSmidth as part of the upgrade.
Local industrial groups Siddhartha, Murarka and Kedia hold stakes of 35%, 30% and 17.5% respectively in the cement producer. Uma Cement, an Indian company, owns the remaining 17.5% stake. Arghakhanchi Cement was originally known as Dynasty Cement.
Republic Cement prepares for infrastructure boom
17 August 2016Philippines: Republic Cement is expanding its grinding capacity by over 10% in anticipation of a rise in demand prompted by increased government infrastructure spending. Other planned upgrades include an improved dust collection system at the cement producer’s plant in Bulacan. The company is also considering building new cement plants. Company president Renato C Sunico made the comments to local press at a forum on social housing.
The government of the Philippines has cited public infrastructure as one of its general spending priorities, setting aside US$18.5bn, which is equivalent to 5.4% of gross domestic product, in 2017.
Raysut Cement upgrades gas supply station
16 August 2016Oman: Raysut Cement is upgrading its gas supply station at its Raysut plant in Salalah. The installation will let the unit receive an additional 40,000m3/day of gas for use as fuel to increase cement production to about 140,000t/yr.
Other on-going upgrades by the cement producer include the implementation of the parent company’s joint venture project with Barwaaqo Cement Company in Somaliland. At Duqm Port, construction has been completed on the company’s cement handling terminal, which is expected to formally begin commercial operations in the third quarter of 2016.
Civil works on a new packing plant, which features a 150t/hr rotary packing machine with auto truck loader, is underway. The facility is expected to be commissioned by the end of October 2016. Work on the installation of 12,000t capacity silos is also in progress at the company’s Pioneer Cement in the UAE. The new facility will be commissioned by the end of November 2016.
Arabian Cement to build US$9m petcoke mill
16 August 2016Egypt: Arabian Cement plans to build a US$9m petcoke mill for its cement plant. It is preparing all the necessary legal and financial requirements for the project. The new mill will help the cement plant reduce its operating costs.
Tanga Cement to inaugurate second production line
03 August 2016Tanzania: Tanga Cement plans to inaugurate its second clinker production line in mid-August 2016. The 775,000t/yr line will increase production capacity at the cement plant to 1.25Mt/yr. The company has spent US$125m on the upgrade. Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment Charles Mwijage is expected to attend the ceremony according to the Tanzania Daily News newspaper.
Arawak Cement reaches record exports in June 2016
28 July 2016Barbados: Arawak Cement has recorded its highest exports in three years when it exported 20,000t of cement in June 2016. The figure contributed a 27% year-on-year increase in exports to 90,000t for the first half of 2016, according to the Nation News newspaper. The cement producer said that the boost in export sales was due to improvements to its jetty and dust emissions control systems at its St Lucy plant. The changes have allowed it to improve its cement loading rates and receive larger ships.