November 2024

Georgia: The government of Georgia is to build a US$100m cement plant in Senaki, Samegrelo. The project will be joint-investment with an unnamed Chinese company. Construction will start in June 2016 and the plant is expected to employ 500 people in its construction phase. The project was discussed at a meeting between Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and businessman Tsezar Chocheli, according to the Sarke Information Agency.

Tajikistan: Cement production volumes have increased by 33% year-on-year to 373,000t in the first quarter of 2016 from 249,000t in the same period in 2015. The majority of the production was produced by Huaksin Ghayyur Cement, which accounted for 55% of the output. Domestic demand for cement is estimated at to be up to 3.5Mt/yr in 2016. Existing local cement production capacity should fully meet this, according to the Avesta news agency.

Ecuador: Union Andina de Cementos (UNACEM) has been recognised as an eco-efficient company by the Ministry for the Environment. The certification is given to companies that have demonstrated environmentally friendly production. Unacem submitted four case studies to qualify for the certification, according to La Hora. These included examples of using slag to produce clinker and co-processing alternative fuels like palm kernel shell and waste oils.

Zimbabwe: Construction of the 0.7Mt/yr PPC Ruwa Plant in Msasa has been reported as more than half complete. PPC sources told the Financial Gazette that civil and structural construction of the cement plant is now more than 50% complete. The US$80m plant is expected to be running by the end of 2016.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has reported a fall in cement sales for the first quarter of 2016. Its sales revenue fell by 12% year-on-year to US$5.98m from US$6.79m in the same period in 2015. Cement sales volumes fell slightly to 190,000t from 193,000t. The company intends to regain market share and increase sales in the south of the country in the rest of the year.

Overall the cement producer said that the cement market in Kazakhstan decreased by 16% year-on-year in 2016. However, the market reduction slowed in March 2016. The company estimates that Kazakhstan’s cement market will reduce to 8.5Mt in 2016 from 9.6Mt/in 2015.

US: A legal challenge to the cancelled Titan American Castle Hayne cement plant has ended following the termination of a challenged air pollution permit by the North Carolina Division of Air Quality. Titan rescinded the permit, following its announcement in March 2016 to cancel its cement plant project. It was originally issued in 2012.

"For years, Titan and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) tried to keep citizen groups from getting a hearing on significant and avoidable air pollution from this proposed plant," said Geoff Gisler, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center who represented the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Cape Fear River Watch, PenderWatch & Conservancy, and Sierra Club. "We have achieved the goal of this lawsuit - protecting citizens of New Hanover and Pender counties from Titan’s pollution when DEQ failed to do so."

Titan will continue to operate a cement terminal at the site. On 12 April 2016, the North Carolina Court of Appeals granted citizen groups’ request to dismiss the appeal because the approval of the plant had been withdrawn, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Brazil: Cement sales have fallen by 14.5% year-on-year to 13.9Mt in the first quarter of 2016 from 16.3Mt in the same period in 2015 according to the Sindicato Nacional da Indústria do Cimento (SNIC). Local cement companies estimate that sales and apparent consumption will fall by up to 13% in 2016.

A survey by SNIC shows the sales began falling in mid March 2014 due to problems in the construction industry. However, SNIC president José Otávio de Carvalho said that this is not the worst crisis faced by the cement industry. In 1982 cement consumption fell to 19Mt from 27Mt in 1982.

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement Corp has conceded that its business has remained weak since 2015. It hopes to see rise in sales in the second half of 2016 said Taiwan Cement chairman Leslie Koo in comments reported by the Tapei Times.

Cement shipments to China grew by 18% year-on-year to 10.8Mt in the first quarter of 2016 from 9.2Mt in the same period in 2015. Taiwan Cement senior vice-president Edward Huang said that overall demand for cement and clinker in 2016 should remain the same or improve from 2015. He citied transportation infrastructure projects in Taiwan and potential demand in China as measures for growth.

It expects cement production overcapacity to end in 2016 as the Chinese government continues to close cement plants. It also expects cement prices to start to grow again throughout the year based on price rises in the first quarter of 2016. The company plans to build four production lines in 2016. A new cement plant in Shaoguan, China, is expected to start production in the first half of 2017.

Taiwan Cement’s net income fell by 47% to US$178m in 2015 from US$334m in 2014. Sales dropped by 21% to US$2.89bn from US$3.65bn. It blamed the result on falling prices and demand in China due to oversupply of cement.

India: The Competition Appellate Tribunal has delayed the sale of Lafarge India following an appeal by Dalmia Cement Bharat. The sale has been halted until a hearing on 9 May 2016.

"Operation of order dated 2 February 2016 passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI)... shall remain stayed," the COMPAT order passed by its chairman GS Singhvi said. LafargeHolcim has been asked to reply to Dalmia's appeal before the hearing in May 2016.

Lafarge India is selling all of its assets in India including a cement production capacity of 11Mt/yr. It received approval from the CCI in February 2016.

Germany: IKN has placed an order for a A TEC GRECO kiln burner for the HeidelbergCement’s cement plant at Burglengenfeld. The project will be completed by the end of 2016. It is part of a general upgrade being conducted at the plant by IKN.

The scope of A TEC GRECO’s supply includes the engineering, design and manufacturing of a tailor-made combustion system including the required peripheral systems for operation. The burner thermal power will be 75MW. The burner is intended use with lignite, sewage sludge, refuse-derived fuel (RDF), diesel and solvents.

A TEC GRECO is a subsidiary of A TEC specialising in burners for kilns and calciners.