Displaying items by tag: Capacity
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to transfer six cement plant being built in Sichuan
04 February 2015China: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released a plan to transfer the production capacity of six cement projects that are currently being built in Sichuan Province. These schemes, with a total cement production capacity of 6Mt/yr, will be publicised on the national production capacity replacement quota platform for future transfer.
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology sets timetable to eliminate out-dated cement production capacity
05 March 2014China: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has set a timetable for eliminating out-dated cement plants. The MIIT has requested that local governments in China work out structural adjustment plans for the cement industry before the end of March 2014 and propose detailed treatment measures towards on-going and finished contravening cement projects before the end of June 2014, according to the Xinhua Chinese news agency.
Hebei province has been asked to cut its cement production capacity by 60Mt/yr by 2017. Jiangsu province is to cut its production capacity by 10Mt/yr and Jiangxi province must cut its capacity by 5Mt/yr. The MIIT expects that cement production utilisation will be improved to over 75% by the end 2017 after the cement industry follows its measures. Emissions of dust and nitrogen oxide will be cut by more than 40% and the cement industry's average profit margin should be no less than the manufacturing industry's average.
China outlines merger targets for cement sector
02 July 2013China: The China Cement Association (CCA) has drafted a plan to promote mergers and acquisitions in the cement industry, according to an 'industry insider' quoted by Xinhua's China Economic Information Service. The plan is to help the cement industry to eliminate its out-dated production capacity and increase the concentration ratio of the industry.
According to the plan, the number of cement enterprises in the country will witness a significant drop during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015) from that in seen in 2010, with no more than 1000 cement clinker enterprises and no more than 2000 large-scale cement grinding stations, each with annual output of more than 600,000t/yr, left by the end of 2015.
The plan also aims to develop five enterprise groups that each have annual output of more than 100Mt/yr and have a complete industry chain, core competence and international influence.
Liberia: HeidelbergCement has commissioned a new 0.5Mt/yr, US$14m cement mill at its cement grinding plant in Monrovia, Liberia. The German cement producer operates in Liberia through a subsidiary, Cemenco. It is the only cement producer in the country.
"The construction of the new cement mill in Liberia is in line with our strategy of modernising and expanding clinker and cement capacities in emerging markets," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. "In Ghana, we recently increased the cement grinding capacity at our Tema cement plant and are currently building a new cement mill in Takoradi. Together with our existing plants in this region, the new mill in Liberia strengthens our coastal network in West Africa."
Investment in the new cement grinding facility in Liberia includes a two-chambered 65t/hr ball mill with high-efficiency separator, filter, fan and flow meter. The power supply of the new cement-grinding mill is provided through a 5.7MW generator plant on a rental basis.
HeidelbergCement is currently conducting investment projects in sub-Saharan Africa amounting to almost US$400m. They include expansion projects of cement capacity of about 3Mt and of clinker capacity of 1.5Mt.
Holcim Indonesia to build capacity by 40% to 12.5Mt/yr
02 April 2013Indonesia: Cement producer Holcim Indonesia has announced plans to expand its production capacity by 40% to 12.5Mt/yr. Eamon J Ginley, Holcim Indonesian president director, released the news at a press conference in Jakarta reported on by the Jakarta Globe.
Ginley said that the increased output will come from the operation of Tuban 1 plant that will begin production in the second quarter of 2013, along with the acquisition of Tuban 2 plant in East Java. The capacity of both plants is estimated to be 1.7Mt/yr, adding 3.4Mt/yr to the company's current output of 9.1Mt/yr. Tuban 2 is expected to be completed in 2015. According to Ginley, Holcim Indonesia is investing more than US$800m - raised from internal cash, export credits and other loans - to boost its production capacity.
Overall in Indonesia, local and foreign producers have set aside US$6.7bn until 2017 on capacity expansion. This investment is expected to boost the country's cement production capacity by 80% to 109Mt/yr in 2017 from 60.5Mt/yr in 2012.
President lays foundation stone for CIMERWA extension
18 January 2013Rwanda: Rwandan President Paul Kagame laid the foundation stone for the extension of Rwanda's largest cement-producing factory, CIMERWA, on 17 January 2013. The expansion of the factory follows a deal in December 2012 that saw South Africa's largest cement firm, PPC (Pretoria Portland Cement), acquire a 51% share of CIMERWA's equity with a buyout of US$69.4m. With PPC's investment the production capacity of the factory is expected to increase from 0.1Mt/yr to 0.6Mt/yr.
"As a fast-developing nation, there is need for more and cheaper cement," said President Kagame, speaking after the laying of the foundation stone. "With the new investor in CIMERWA we expect the factory to perform much better than it did before."
Kagame said that residents of Rusizi, where CIMERWA is located, will be among the key beneficiaries of the factory's expansion through the creation of jobs. He also announced that the government will partner with the factory to put tarmac on the road leading to the factory. The government will pay 60% and the company will pay 40% of the cost of the road improvements.
Dangote and Lafarge record 1.47Mt unsold stock in Nigeria
02 January 2013Nigeria: Two major Nigerian cement producers, Dangote and Lafarge WAPCO, have ended the 2012 calendar year with 1.47Mt of unsold cement and clinker. Figures obtained from the two manufacturers show that Dangote had unsold stock of 950,000t while Lafarge had 520,000t.
"At Lafarge, the situation is so bad. We have 300,000t of unsold cement and 220,000t of clinker in our silos across our three plants (Sagamu, Ewekoro I and Ewekoro II). Before these pileups, we used to load 10 trucks per day but now that there are no sales and loaded trucks have nowhere to go. As a result we are losing 800t/day," said Lanre Opakunle, plant manager at Lafarge Ewekoro II.
Commenting on why the price of cement remained high in Nigeria despite the glut, Opakunle said that manufacturers are coping with rising energy inputs and high haulage costs. Fuel costs account for 31% of production cost in Nigeria compared to less than 10% in China.
In early December 2012 Dangote Cement announced that it was going to shut its 4Mt/yr Dangote Cement plant in Gboko, Benue State due to a glut of cement in the market.
Leading Nigerian cement importer fights 'glut' claims
02 January 2013Nigeria: Ibeto Group, the owners of Ibeto Cement Company Limited, has stated that the cement the company imports into Nigeria is not responsible for any market surplus. In a statement issued by Ibeto Cement the company proposed that the first sign of a glut in the market of a product is a 'drastic' reduction in price. There has been no drop in the price of cement in Nigeria.
The group, in a statement signed by its executive director of Strategy and Public Affairs, Dr Ben Aghazu, argued that since it imports 1.5Mt/yr or less than 5% of the annual cement supply to the Nigerian market it cannot be held responsible for any surplus on the market. Ibeto Cement became the sole importer of cement into the country following an out of court settlement following the closure of its bagging plant in Bundu Ama in 2005. Ibteo Cement was subsequently allowed to import 1.5Mt/yr bulk cement from October 2007 until September 2017.
Aghazu further accused Dangote Group of trying to influence the Federal Government to 'invalidate' Ibteo's import quota by raising the taxes on imported cement or by banning clinker imports outright.
"Unfortunately, in our country the antitrust laws probably don't exist or aren't enforced when it pertains to the Dangote Group, which holds a monopolistic stranglehold on several significant and strategic sectors of the economy," said Aghazu.
China's cement industry faces vast overcapacity say NDRC official
01 November 2012China: China's cement industry is facing massive overcapacity despite a recovery in output in September 2012, said Liu Ming, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
By the end of 2011, a total of 1513 cement works were operating in the country, with a total cement output of 2.3Bt. According to Liu, 210 new cement works are either under construction or to be opened. Once they are all in operation, the nationwide cement output is expected to reach 2.8Bt/yr.
The official said that China would strictly control new production capacities, raise the thresholds for access to the industry, promote mergers and acquisitions in the industry, and eliminate outdated production capacities.
In the first nine months, China's total cement output reached 1.591Bt, an increase of 6.7% year on year. In September 2012 alone, the monthly output hit a record high of 210Mt, reflecting a recovery in the industry.
UltraTech Cement to reach 62Mt by April 2013
05 September 2012India: UltraTech, India's leading cement producer, is planning a 19% increase in capacity to 62Mt/yr by April 2013 from its current output of 52Mt/yr. Company chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, who made the announcement, added that the outlook for the sector remained challenging.
"I believe the short-term prospects for the industry appear bearish. Regardless, over the medium to long term, the sector offers good growth potential," said Birla in a statement released after the company's annual shareholder meeting. "Undoubtedly, we are facing some tough challenges today."
Rising input and energy costs have limited margins at cement companies, while demand remains a worry amid a weakening economy and high interest rates which have slowed housing and infrastructure development in Asia's third-largest economy. Producers have also come under pressure after the country's anti-trust watchdog fined 11 companies, including UltraTech, saying they colluded to under-use their plants and create an artificial shortage of cement.
UltraTech has been in talks to buy one of two cement plants put up for sale by debt-laden Jaiprakash Associates, in western and southern India. The company reported a 14% increase year-on-year in net profit for the quarter ending in June 2012 to US$129m.