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Egypt: Solomon Baumgartner Aviles, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Lafarge Egypt, says that cement demand fell by 6.5% year-on-year in the first half of 2020. In an interview with the Daily News Egypt newspaper he said that coronavirus has “strongly impacted the building materials sector” with the biggest effect on the individual construction market as people decided to save their money instead. He added that a government decision to halt licences for building, expanding, upgrading, amending, or supporting construction work for private housing in larger cities had also compounded the problem. Despite this he praised the government for supporting infrastructure projects, which are operating at full capacity.
Aviles also outlined how Lafarge Egypt has developed an integrated plan on Health, Cost and Cash to tackle the coronavirus crisis. So far it has donated over 80,000 masks and gloves, made 200L of antibacterial gel available, and supported public hospitals by refurbishing 460 ventilators.
Cimerwa approved to list on Rwanda Stock Exchange 29 July 2020
Rwanda: Cimerwa says it has received approval to list its shares on the Rwanda Stock Exchange. The move is part of the strategy by the government to sell its stake in the cement producer, according to the New Times newspaper. The government and its related shareholders own a 49% stake in the subsidiary of South Africa-based PPC.
Company chairman Regis Rugemanshuro said that the company had decided to continue with its plans despite the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement has been made while Cimerwa is supplying cement to a large government tender to build new schools. The cement producer added that, “Supply to this project is progressing smoothly with the company’s production currently being robust at close to design capacity.”
Chadian president asks SONACIM to restart production 29 July 2020
Chad: Idriss Déby, the president of Chad, has asked the Société Nationale de Ciment du Tchad (SONACIM) to restart production following reports of cement shortages and price rises. He made the announcement following a meeting with representatives of the local industry, according to the Journal du Tchad. SONACIM’s plant at Baore has reportedly been not operating recently due to long-running issues since its opening in 2012.
Mondi Paper Bags acquires cement bag plants and secures Helwan Cement and InterCement supply contracts. 29 July 2020
Egypt: Austria-based Mondi Group subsidiary Mondi Paper Bags has announced its acquisition of two cement bag plants, the Helwan Cement bag plant and InterCement bag plant, with a combined capacity of 60m – 80m bags/yr. As a result, Mondi Paper Bags will now meet the bagging needs of both cement producers.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Claudio Fedalto said, “These collaborations will offer Helwan and InterCement access to our latest innovations, industry expertise and our strong plant network and customer service in the Middle East. Thanks to Mondi’s vertical integration, our partners will further benefit from our high quality kraft paper.”
Helwan Cement owner Suez Cement managing director Jose Maria Magrina said, “We are delighted to continue our relationship with a reputable and reliable global paper bags supplier like Mondi, while we can focus on our core operations, the production of grey cement and ready-mix.” InterCement subsidiary Amreyah Cement legal and administration director Paulo Dall’Aqua added, “Building sustainable partnerships is InterCement’s tagline, and it is exactly what this deal represents.”
Singapore: Jurong Port has ordered three Siwertell ship unloaders from Bruks Siwertell to handle cement imports. The port’s cement terminal already has three Siwertell ship unloaders that have been used for over 20 years. Two of these will be replaced as part of the upgrade project.
The three new ST 490-M screw-type rail-travelling unloaders will each discharge cement, fly ash and cement slag from vessels up to 50,000dwt at a continuous rated capacity of 800t/hr. Two of the new unloaders are scheduled for delivery in May 2022 and the third by the end of 2022. All will be fully assembled prior to delivery and transported by heavy-lift ship. Final commissioning and performance tests will be carried out in Jurong Port.