UK: Commissioning has started on the repaired plant at the flood-damaged Cemex cement works at South Ferriby, UK and production will be resumed imminently.
The breakthrough comes three months after the plant, which employs 150 staff, was put out of action by a tidal surge from the nearby River Humber. A Cemex spokesman said, "Commissioning has started on the cement mill, which has been upgraded and improved since the flood on 5 December 2013. It has been a very long and complex process but we hope production will resume very soon."
Normally the 76-year-old plant produces around 800,000t/yr of cement so the loss of production over three months will mount to 200,000t.
The local employees have been retained on full pay since 5 December 2013 when the tidal surge saw the River Humber burst its banks and swamp the plant with millions of litres of water. The most serious damage was caused to the site's electrical network.