27 February 2017
US: The US Customs and Border Protection plans to start awarding contracts by mid-April 2017 for a proposed border wall with Mexico. The agency says it will request bids on or around 6 March 2017 and that companies would have to submit ‘concept papers’ to design and build prototypes by 10 March 2017, according to the Associated Press. Finalists must then submit offers with their proposed costs by 24 March 2017. No details on where construction will start or how much it will be cost have been released.
Estimates for the cost of a 2000-mile border wall vary significantly. The Government Accountability Office estimates it would cost on average US$6.5m/mile for a pedestrian fence and US$1.8m/mile for vehicle barriers. However, an internal Homeland Security Department report prepared for department secretary John Kelly places the bill at about US$21m according to an anonymous source quoted by the Associated Press. It proposes that existing barriers built during the George W Bush administration be extended first in stages.
The cost of the wall will depend on the height, materials and other specifications of the project. Granite Construction, Vulcan Materials and Martin Marietta Materials are all likely to be potential bidders and Mexico’s Cemex is also likely to benefit from any increase in demand for construction materials in the region.
Canada: The Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD) has struck a deal with Lafarge Canada to sell drinking water treatment residuals to the Richmond cement plant for use in cement production. The contract is for a three-year agreement up to a total cost of just under US$1m, according to Postmedia News. The deal follows a 12-month industrial trial that started in mid-2016.
The residuals will be used as a substitute for shale in the production process. Around 10,000t/yr of residuals will be used to replace 2100t/yr of red shale and conglomerate that are currently supplied from a quarry at Sumas Mountain, Abbotsford. The use of residuals doesn’t affect the plant’s Air Quality Permit following stack tests. As part of the agreement Lafarge will need to build additional storage capacity at its plant.
Cement production in Kyrgyzstan hit by imports since joining the Eurasian Economic Union 27 February 2017
Kyrgyzstan: Cement produced in Kyrgyzstan has become ‘uncompetitive’ since the country joined the Eurasian Economic Union. The State Committee for Industry, Energy and Mining has blamed this on high volumes of imports from Kazakhstan, according to the Tazabek newspaper. The country has five integrated cement plants.
LafargeHolcim Morocco to build two cement plants in Souss-Massa 27 February 2017
Morocco: LafargeHolcim Morocco plans to build two new cement plants at Tizgilt, Chtouka Ait-Baha and Tidmi, Taroudant in the Souss-Massa region. The project is budgeted at Euro720m and it is expected to create 1400 jobs, according to the Challenge newspaper. Marcel Kobuz, the chief executive officer for the cement producer, has met with region head Zineb El Adaoui to discuss the initiatives including the allocation of land.