Displaying items by tag: Government
Colombia: Cemex Colombia has been fined US$429,000 for taking groundwater from the Tunjuelo River without permission. The sanction of the District Department of the Environment of Bogotá imposed the penalty, according to the La Republica newspaper. However, the settlement exonerated Cemex of causing any environmental damage. The company says it does not plan to file any legal appeal for the sanction.
Georgia: HeidelbergCement Georgia plans to close a kiln at its Rustavi cement plant due to imports from Iran. It will also reduce production at the Dedoplitskaro limestone quarry, according to GBC Daily News. The Georgian Cement Association has lobbied the government to enact anti-dumping measures against Iranian imports.
India: Roads and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has threatened implementing price controls on cement. He blamed problems his ministry has faced building concrete roads on alleged price collusion, according to the Telegraph India newspaper. During questions at the Indian Parliament he said that if cement producers did not ‘fall in line’ then he would propose placing cement under the Essential Commodities Act.
Mexico: The Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (PROFEPA) awarded an Recognition of Environmental Excellence to 12 Cemex cement plants. The award is presented to companies that demonstrate a continuous commitment to protect the environment. The plants that were recognised were: Atotonilco in Hidalgo; Barrientos in Mexico State; Ensenada in Baja California; Huichapan in Hidalgo; Mérida, in Yucatan; Monterrey in Nuevo León; Tamuín in San Luis Potosí; Tepeaca in Puebla; Torreón, in Coahuila; Valles in San Luis Potosí; Yaqui, in Sonora; and Zapotiltic, in Jalisco.
Vietnam: The government of Quang Ngai has threatened to shut the Dai Viet-Dung Quat cement plant if it does not improve its dust emissions. 107 households living within 50m of the unit have been moved but more than 1600 households remain close to the site, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The 0.5Mt/yr cement plant started operation in 2015.
Tangshan shuts down cement plants for five days
17 July 2018China: The city of Tangshan ordered cement and steel plants to shut down for five days to prevent pollution. The directive followed a forecast of heavy smog in mid-July 2018, according to a source quoted by Reuters. Tangshan, an industrial city, is located in the northeast of Hebei province.
Former Vicem head removed from government committees
12 July 2018Vietnam: Tran Viet Thang, the former General Director of the Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem), has been dismissed as a member of the Executive Committee of the Central Businesses Party Unit and member of the Executive Committee of Vicem's Party unit. He has been found guilty of several legal violations as well as breaking Communist Party of Vietnam rules, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper.
Thang was appointed as the head of government-owned Vicem in mid-2013. He is accused of raising company debts of US$175m by the end of 2016. He left the position in mid-2017. According to the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Thang signed documents and took decisions that he was not authorised to. His actions allegedly violated local corporate and bidding law, as well as rules for Communist Party members. He has been accused of damaging the reputation of Vicem and the Communist Party.
The punishment against Thang is part of an on-going crackdown in the country against corruption.
Cameroon: Engineering Construction Manufacturing and Trading plans to build a new 0.5Mt/yr cement plant. The project has an investment of US$27m, according to the Agence de Presse Africaine. The local company has signed an agreement with the Investment Promotion Agency to build the plant. It enables it to receive customs and tax breaks as part of the deal.
Africa: The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to help Dangote Cement’s production capacity to expand 27.5Mt/yr by 2030. The Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) made the forecast as part of a report on the potential benefits of the free trade area, according to this This Day newspaper. The report follows a meeting of the African Union in Mauritania in late June 2018. It used the cement industry as a case study for the benefits of the free trade arrangement.
Ukraine starts cement anti-dumping probe
05 July 2018Ukraine: The Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade has started an anti-dumping investigation on imports of cement from Russia, Belarus and Moldova. It will look at the conduct of Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine, HeidelbergCement Ukraine, Podilsky Cement and Ivano-Frankivskcement, according to the Uryadovy Courier newspaper. The probe will examine the cement market between 2015 and 2017.