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India: Construction work has yet to return to normality following the easing of the coronavirus lockdown in Uttar Pradesh as cement and other materials have not reached building sites. The Hindustan Times has reported that restrictions to the movement of goods across state and district borders have caused extensive disruption of supply chains. The website for travel permits needed by workers who do not live at the site at which they are employed has reportedly crashed multiple times due to oversubscription, leading to some staffing issues. Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) deputy chair Uttar Pradesh West Amit Modi said, “We can only resume work once these things get back to normal."
Uzbekistan: South Korea-based Hwachon Plant Construction Company has shared plans for an integrated cement plant in Karauzyak, Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic. Uzbekistan Daily News has reported the value of investment in the project as US$380m. Hwachon Plant Construction Company chair Sin Cheol Sik met with Uzbekistan Council of Ministers deputy chair Bakhitzhan Habibullayev via videoconference to discuss funding for the project, which will commence at the earliest possible date.
Sik said that he was hopeful of, “a speedy resolution to the coronavirus pandemic and resumption of regular flights between Uzbekistan and South Korea, whereupon Hwachon Plant Construction Company will start work. Both parties agreed that until that time planning will continue via videoconference.”
Argentina: The Portland Cement Manufacturers Association (AFCP) has reported that cement dispatches in the period between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2020 were 2.3Mt, down by 36% year-on-year from 3.6Mt in the corresponding period of 2019. Between March and April dispatches fell by 20% to 408,000t, down by 55% year-on-year from 907,000t in April 2019. The El Economista newspaper has reported that the decline ‘reflects the worsening of the fall in the private and public demand for housing, road, public works and infrastructure in all the districts of the country.’
Belgium: Cembureau, the European Cement Association, has published its new Carbon Neutrality Roadmap, setting out its ambition to reach net zero emissions along the cement and concrete value chain by 2050. The roadmap examines how CO2 emissions can be reduced at each stage of the value chain – clinker, cement, concrete, construction and (re)carbonation – to achieve zero net emissions by 2050. It quantifies the role of each technology in providing CO2 emissions savings, making concrete political and technical recommendations to support this objective.
“As Europe begins its green recovery, the significance of this moment for our sector is huge. This is our response to the EU Green Deal – we have a plan and are ready to make the leap.” said Raoul de Parisot, president of Cembureau. The association has identified areas where it says it requires decisive political action from the European Union (EU). These include: the development of a pan-European CO2 transportation and storage network; action on circular economy to support the use of non-recyclable waste and biomass waste in cement production; policies to reduce European building’s CO2 footprint, based on a life-cycle approach, that incentivise the market uptake of low-carbon cements; a ‘level’ playing field on carbon, regulatory certainty and an industrial transformation agenda.
Cembureau says it aspires to be in line with the Paris Agreement’s two degrees scenario, reducing CO2 emissions by 30% for cement and 40% down the value chain. Its chief executive Koen Coppenholle added that, “Carbon neutrality along our full value-chain will be a massive effort, but we are confident we can achieve it. Our sector has made significant progress and, with the right tools and support from the EU, we can go much further.”
SLK launches CEM-II cement 13 May 2020
Russia: SLK Cement has announced the production of AI-42.5B, a CEM-II limestone cement, at its Sukholozhskcement plant in Sverdlovsk Oblast. SLK Cement quality director Roman Stikharev said, “the decision to start mass production was made after successful laboratory and industrial tests, as well as receiving positive ratings from customers who participated in the tests.” The cement’s benefits are ‘high strength at an early age.’ SLK Cement’s next step will be ‘the improvement of cements with mineral additives.’