Displaying items by tag: Government
France: The French government reportedly asked the US not to target Lafarge Syria’s Jalabiya cement plant during military operations in 2014. Emails seen and reported upon by Reuters suggest that France's Syria envoy, Franck Gellet, asked the French Foreign Ministry to protect the cement plant while it was in Islamic State controlled territory. The request to ‘not to do anything about this site without checking with us first’ was then passed to US officials. Neither the French Foreign Ministry nor LafargeHolcim commented on the emails when asked by Reuters.
LafargeHolcim is being investigated in France over claims that Lafarge Syria had paid extremist groups to keep a cement plant operational after the outbreak of war in Syria. Six former Lafarge executives have been charged so far with financing a terrorist organisation.
Sweden: Cementa, a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, has handed its environmental roadmap to Minister of Trade and Innovation Mikael Damberg and Deputy Prime Minister and Climate Minister Isabella Lövin. The initiative is part of the Fossil-free Sweden plan to coordinate reduced reliance of industry on fossil fuels and increased competitiveness.
Ghana: Diamond Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to build a port at Kedzi in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region. The site is being developed to help the cement producer import raw materials, according to the Ghanaian Times. At present it uses the port of Lome in Togo.
Paraguay: Edgar Acosta, the general manager of Yguazu Cementos, has called for a law banning imports of clinker to be lifted. Acosta, the former president of Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC), argues that the legislation is ‘unfair competition’ as it was introduced in 2006 when INC was the only cement producer in the country, according to the ABC newspaper. However, at present INC imports large volumes of clinker despite owning large reserves of limestone in the country. Of the 550,000t of cement produced by INC in 2017, more than 50% was made with imported clinker. INC imports clinker from Uruguay, Spain and Greece.
Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPC) is relying on a US$100m land sale to the government to remain solvent. The company is in discussions to sell over 14,000 acres of land to the newly established Special Economy Zones Authority funds, according to the East African newspaper. The cement producer has seen its production halted, cement stocks depleted and staff salaries delayed over the last two months. It reported a loss of US$9.58m in the second half of 2017 from a loss of US$2.45m in the same period in 2016.
Dangote Cement set to switch to natural gas in Tanzania
16 April 2018Tanzania: Dangote Cement plans to start using natural gas at its Mtwara plant by the end of May 2018. The decision follows the completion of a new gas pipeline near the plant, according to the Citizen newspaper. The plant has been using temporary diesel generators. A source quoted by the newspaper said that the unit has been using 6Ml/month of diesel at a cost of about US$4.4m. In late 2016 Dangote Cement made a deal with the government to supply natural gas to its cement plant at Mtwara following a temporary shutdown at the site.
Nigeria: The Methodist Church of Nigeria has called on the local government to support the reopening of the Nkalagu Cement plant. The Diocese of Onitsha wants the unit restored so it can create local jobs, according to the Vanguard newspaper. The plant was the first in Nigeria when it opened in 1954. It later closed in 2003 after it was privatised. The Ebonyi state government signed a memorandum of understanding with Ibeto Group in 2016 to revive the plant.
Russia: Local residents have protested against a cement plant being built at Zueovo near Novgorod. Over 800 residents demonstrated against the project and sent a letter to the regional governor, according to the Kolmovo newspaper. The protestors object to potential health concerns related to the plant such as poor air quality due to dust emissions.
India: The Binani Operational Creditors Forum (BOCF) is seeking a forensic audit of the insolvency resolution process of Binani Cement due to an alleged lack of transparency. The forum has filed a petition in the Supreme Court, according to the Press Trust of India. Binani Cement owes about US$1.07bn to its creditors.
The Supreme Court previously blocked an out-of-court offer by UltraTech Cement for Binani Cement. A consortium led by Dalmia Bharat won an auction for Binani Cement with a bid of US$974m in early March 2018. However, UltraTech Cement then made a direct bid to Binani Cement a few weeks later. According to the BOCF, the operational creditors are expected to only receive US$23.2m from a total exposure of US$107m if the bid from Dalmia Bharat is allowed to complete.
Indian government considering ban on petcoke use
11 April 2018India: The Supreme Court has been informed that the government is considering a ban on the use of petcoke by various industries. Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni, representing the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, told the court that a decision on the matter could be made within one month, according to the New Indian Express newspaper.
At present it is unclear whether the cement industry would be affected. However, if it was included in the ban, this potentially could be a problem for Shree Cement, which uses 100% petcoke in its fuels mix, according to India Infoline News Service. Additionally, UltraTech Cement, JK Cement, JK Lakshmi Cement and Mangalam Cement have petcoke usages in the range of 75 - 85% and would also be negatively affected.