Uruguay: The Administración Nacional de Combustibles, Alcoholes y Portland (ANCAP) is reportedly unsure what to do with a spare kiln it owns. The state-owned oil and cement producer purchased the US$80m kiln for its Paysandú cement plant, according to the Uypress news agency. At present the parts and components are stored at the site.
ANCAP’s union would like the kiln to be installed to secure cement supply at the plant. However, the company’s cement division has built up a debt of US$207m over the past 15 years and it is expected to make a loss of US$15m in 2017. The cement producer plans to cut 60 jobs and make savings of US$20m by 2019.