Displaying items by tag: Vietnam Cement Association
Vietnamese exports up by 15%
17 November 2014Vietnam: Vietnam could earn as much as US$1bn via the export of 20-21Mt of cement and clinker in 2014, 15% more in value terms compared to 2013, according to the Vietnam Cement Association. Preliminary statistics from the Customs General Department showed that the shipment of cement and clinker increased in both volume and value in January-October, reaching nearly 18Mt over 10 months.
Tran Viet Thang, Director General of the Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem), which holds 34% the Vietnamese cement sector's output, said that Vicem exported about 1.8Mt of cement and clinker in the first three quarters of 2014 and plans to sell a further 1Mt in the final three months of the year.
Vietnam: Prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung has agreed to eliminate five more cement projects from the Zoning plan for the 2011 - 2020 period due to lower domestic cement consumption. The projects removed from the master plan have a combined capacity of 910,000t/yr. Earlier the prime minister had also approved the Ministry of Construction's proposal for removing nine clinker projects with a capacity of less than 2500t/day.
In 2013 the Vietnamese government decided to postpone the construction of nine other cement plants in Thanh Son, Tan Phu Xuan, Tan Tao, Yen Mao, Sai Gon Tan Ky, Phu Son, My Duc, Nam Dong and Minh Tam. While these cement plants face the axe, the government approved a project to develop Long Son Cement Plant, which will have a production capacity of 2.3Mt/yr in the northern province of Thanh Hoa. Construction commenced in early 2014 and will be put into operation in 2018.
Despite admitting the current cement glut on the local market, a number of projects are still underway as such schemes are enlisted in the nation's Zoning plan and project owners have invested huge sums in such plants, according Nguyen Van Thien, chairman of the Vietnam Cement Association. Project owners have no other choice but to continue the projects after injecting big funds, otherwise they cannot recover capital to service bank loans.
According to the Vietnam Cement Association, the combined capacity of all the country's cement plants is expected to reach more than 90Mt/yr by 2015, in line with the Zoning plan. Meanwhile, cement demand is forecast at 75 – 76Mt/yr by 2015. Vietnamese cement consumption was only 48Mt in 2012. Should demand rise by 5 - 10%/yr in 2014 and 2015, sales volumes would reach 60Mt, much lower than the expected figure.
Vietnam: The Asean Federation of Cement Manufacturers (AFCM) will hold its 24th Technical Symposium & Exhibition in Hanoi, Vietnam in 21-24 April 2015. The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) will be event the host and organiser. The theme for the symposium is 'Upgrading technology for a sustainable development.'
Vietnam: Larger cement producers in Vietnam have failed to build government mandated waste heat recovery (WHR) systems. Under Vietnam's cement industry development plan until 2020 with a vision towards 2030, all cement plants with a clinker production capacity of 2500t/day or above have to implement a WHR system to save at least 20% of their electricity consumption by 2015. However, local media has reported that only Holcim and Ha Tien 2 have invested in the technology. Other cement producers have been prevented from investing in their plants by high debt and poor local demand for cement.
Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of the Vietnam Cement Association admitted to the delayed investment in the WHR systems. "However, there won't be an extension. The cement makers will be forced to implement this on time," said Quang Cung.
Nguyen Cong Minh Bao, director of Sustainable Development of Holcim Vietnam, which invested US$18m in a WHR system in 2012, said that Vietnam should not extend the deadline. According to Bao 60% of Chinese firms apply the system in China and WHR is an intrinsic component of any new project.
Holcim Vietnam's WHR system has an output capacity of 44MkWh/yr. It will be enough to serve the firm's Hon Chong Cement Factory for 88 days of operation, meaning Holcim Vietnam will save 9000t of coal and reduce 25,300t of CO2 per year.
Vietnam's cement sector is considered as one of the country's most energy-intensive industries. Under the third draft of the retail pricing scheme conducted by the state-run Electricity of Vietnam in 2013, steel and cement producers using power voltages of 110kV or higher during peak hour would pay 10% than the asking price for their normal power. Overall, the draft would dish out a power tariff hike of 2 - 16% to steel and cement producers.
Vietnam set to overproduce 25Mt cement in 2013
16 October 2013Vietnam: The Vietnam Cement Association has said that Vietnam's cement production capacity will reach 70Mt/yr after three new cement plants start operation before the end of 2013. The three new projects include X18 cement project in Hoa Binh province, Phuc Quang cement project in Quang Binh province and Dong Lam cement project in Thua Thien, Hue province. Domestic consumption of cement is estimated to be approximately 45Mt/yr in 2013 giving the country an overcapacity of 25Mt/yr.
Vietnam adds three more cement plants despite surplus
01 October 2013Vietnam: The Vietnam Cement Association (VNCA) has said that three more cement plants will open later in 2013 – X18, Quang Phuc and Dong Lam - despite the country's current cement surplus.
According to reporting by the Tuoi Tre newspaper, the new plants will raise national cement production capacity to around 70Mt/yr. Domestic cement demand is estimated at up to 46Mt/yr in 2013. The opening of the new plants will lead to a surplus of up to 25Mt/yr.
Local cement producers in Vietnam face rising debts and high stock inventories due to inaccurate demand forecasts and massive investment. The country's cement sales are expected to rise by 4 - 5% year-on-year to up to 57Mt in 2013, including 49Mt of domestic sales and 8Mt of export.