Displaying items by tag: Capacity

Ecuador: Holcim expects to increase production capacity at its plant in the capital Guayaquil by 54% by 2012. The company will spend USD120m on expansion work and new machinery to boost cement production to 5.4Mt/yr from 3.5Mt/yr.

The machinery includes a new mill with production capacity of 250t/hr. The company is also building two warehouses for clinker and cement storage. The expansion project is currently 85% complete and will be ready to operate by the start of 2012.

Holcim decided to carry out the project based on the steady growth of public and private infrastructure projects in the country during the last few years, according to administrative manager Giancarlo Muñz. Current demand for cement in Ecuador is around 5Mt/yr, which is supplied by Holcim, Lafarge, Guapá and Cementos Chimborazo.

India: The Rajkot-based Kishan group of companies will increase its cement making capacity by investing USD53-63m to set up a new cement plant, which is expected to be commissioned by the end of November 2011. The company already operates a mini cement plant and markets cement under the brand name of Kishan Cement.

For the major cement plant, the Kishan group has formed a new company under the name of 'Hi-Bond Cement India Private Limited.' The group's director, Rajan Vadaliya Vadalia, who also heads the cement plant project, said that the production capacity of new cement plant would be 0.9Mt/yr, with the potential for further expansion in the future. Vadalia added that production would continue at the 0.2Mt/yr mini cement plant.

"The Kishan brand will help us to get new business because it has already a well known name," said Vadaliya. The company is focusing on Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and some parts of Madhya Pradesh for marketing.

"Logistically it is costly to cater to the pan-India market, hence we are focusing on markets in western India. Meanwhile, we are also looking at export opportunities and our team is working on various options for exports," he said. He also reported that the machinery for the new cement plant was being imported by a well-known Danish company.

India: A panel of India's environment ministry has cleared a USD98.6m proposal by Jaiprakash Associates to expand the capacity of its cement plant in Madhya Pradesh. The panel has recommended clearance, with certain riders, for the project in the Sidhi district, where the company already operates a 2Mt/yr plant. The Jaypee Group firm proposes to augment the existing capacity to 3.5Mt/yr by constructing a 1.5Mt/yr line.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) recommended the proposal for environmental clearance subject to the stipulation of specific conditions that include developing a green belt in at least 33% of the area in and around the plant and earmarking at least 5% of the total cost of the project towards social commitments. Jaiprakash plans to put up the new line on 10 hectares and has plans to invest USD13.1m for the installation of pollution control measures.

The Jaypee Group has over 26Mt/yr of cement production capacity across all of its cement interests and has embarked upon expanding it to around 36Mt/yr.

Turkey: Cement producer Adana Çimento, an Oyak Group company, says it plans to invest USD80m in a clinker production facility in the city of Iskenderun. With this investment the annual clinker production capacity of Adana Çimento will increase to 3.3Mt/yr from 2.3Mt/yr. The new facility is expected to be completed and come online by 2013.

Indonesia: The capacity of Indonesian cement industries will increase by 5Mt/yr in 2012 to 59Mt/yr. "The capacity hike is needed to respond to increasing demand in the domestic market," said the head of the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI), Urip Trimuryono.

Urip said the additional capacity would come from PT Semen Gresik and PT Semen Tonasa, which each plan expansions of 2.5Mt/yr. In 2013 the installed capacity will increase by 1.8Mt/yr following the completion of the construction of a plant owned by PT Holcim Indonesia.

Investment in the cement industry is excluded from the list of industries banned for foreign investment and Urip said that local cement producers were ready to face competition from foreign investors. "This means anyone may build a cement factory in Indonesia but must be ready for free competition," he said.

Three foreign companies plan to invest in the national cement sector, namely Lafarge Cement Indonesia, which will build a cement factory in Langkat, North Sumatra with a capacity of 1.5Mt/yr with an investment worth USD350-550m. The second company is China Anhui Conch Group, which is investing a massive USD2.35bn in cement factories in the four eastern provinces of South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and West Papua. The third line with the company is China Triumph International Engineering Co., which will invest USD350m to build a 2-3Mt/yr cement plant in Grobogan, Central Java.