Displaying items by tag: Infrastructure
Gas supply puts start of Potosí cement plant in doubt
12 February 2020Bolivia: Antonio Pino, Vice Minister of Hydrocarbons, says that a new gas pipeline will have to be built to supply the Potosí cement plant at Chiutara. This may delay the start of the new plant to as late as early 2022, according to the El Potosí newspaper. The 1.3Mt/yr integrated unit was previously planned to start operation in February 2020.
The project was supported by the country’s previous government administration through the creation of Empresa Publica Productiva Cementos de Bolivia (ECEBOL. The plant is being built by Sociedad Accidental Imasa Polysius, a joint venture created by Polysius and Imasa.
Russian consumption rises by 9.6% year-on-year in January 2020
11 February 2020Russia: Russian producers sold 2.4Mt of cement in January 2020, up by 9.6% from 2.2Mt in January 2019. This is in line with Unioncement’s optimistic forecast of 6% year-on-year demand growth. The coming construction season promises sustained growth due to the planned renovation of housing stock, the implementation of integrated development projects and an increased share of roads built using cement concrete, in line with the country’s 2020 Housing and Urban Environment programme and President Putin’s social initiatives.
Siberian Cement produces 3.2Mt in 2019
24 January 2020Russia: Siberian Cement’s production increased by 3.0% year-on-year to 3.2Mt in 2019 from 3.1Mt in 2018. The company estimated that demand over the period in Siberia, Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal region grew by 4.4% year-on-year to 5.3Mt/yr from below 5.1Mt/yr in 2018. Siberian Cement owner Sibtsem Holding Company’s first vice president Gennady Rasskazov suggested mining and metallurgical projects, the bridging of the River Ob and infrastructure development for the World Youth Hockey Championship 2023 as factors contributing to the rise in demand.
Fortune Business Insights forecasts cement market growth
06 January 2020India: Market researcher Fortune Business Insights has forecasted market growth of 5.2% in the cement industry to US$463bn in 2026 from US$313bn in 2019. It conjectured that global improvements in road quality and investments in high-grade products will drive growing demand. The industry will meet this demand through advances in cement production and a reduction in the number of companies consolidating operations.
In India, the government’s ‘Housing for All by 2020’ scheme is set to kick-start consumption.
Fortune Business Insights' report is available here.
Indian government unveils US$102tn infrastructure plan
02 January 2020India: Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty has announced an infrastructure-spending plan consisting of US$102tn expenditure before 30 April 2025. Iran Daily has reported that this includes an investment of US$13.6tn in the 12 months to 30 April 2019 - up by 36% from US$10.0tn in the previous 12 months to 30 April 2018. 25% of the investment will go to the energy sector and 19% spent on roads, 16% on urban infrastructure, 13% on railways and 8% on rural infrastructure and innovation. The Business Standard newspaper has suggested that slow growth in domestic demand in late 2020 may cause cement production capacity utilisation to return to a level above 70%.
China on track for fully paved roads by 31 December 2019
18 December 2019China: Cement or asphalt roads will connect every settlement in China by 31 December 2019, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Transport. Sichaun province is the last part of the country to receive fully paved roads, which were yet to reach one town and one village as of 15 December 2019. Xinhua’s China Economic Information Service has reported that China has invested US$87.5bn in the construction of 6.34 million km of auxiliary roads since it began construction of the system in 2003.
Odisha state government announces 27 projects
03 December 2019India: The government of the state of Odisha will invest US$1.25bn in infrastructure development, including construction of several industrial facilities. These will include a 1.0Mt/yr integrated plant owned by JSW Cement subsidiary Shiva Cement and a total of 4.0Mt/yr grinding capacity in new Shiva Cement and Shree Cement plants. The projects will source their cement from Odisha’s existing installed capacity of 7.3Mt/yr, consisting of 3.8Mt/yr integrated and 3.5Mt/yr grinding capacity at plants owned and operated by Dalmia Bharat’s OCC India, Toshali Cement, UltraTech Cement and Lafarge Holcim’s ACC Cement.
Colombia: Cementos Argos Colombia supplied around 220,000m3 of concrete and over 8000t of cement for the constriction of the Oriente Tunnel. The road infrastructure project near Medellín in Antioquia is scheduled to be commissioned in mid-August 2019. Work on the project started in 2015. The tunnel had an investment of around US$300m and it will be the longest operational road tunnel in South America when it opens.
Association of Cement Manufacturers of Andalusia calls on government to increase infrastructure projects
02 August 2019Spain: The Association of Cement Manufacturers of Andalusia (AFCA) has lobbied the Regional Government of Andalusia to invest more in infrastructure projects. At a meeting the cement producers asked the local government to support the sector, according to Europa Press. The region’s consumption of cement grew by 8.5% year-on-year to 2.5Mt in 2018 but it is still at a historically low level. Exports fell by 30% to 1.6Mt in 2018 due to rising costs associated with the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and high local electricity costs.
US: Hawaii’s Department of Transportation plans to use carbon-injected concrete for its new projects. This will include a new structure to protect a highway tunnel from rockfalls, according to Reuters. The Department of Transportation was testing CO2-injected concrete on an access road project with CarbonCure Technologies in May 2019. The latest decision follows a resolution by state legislators that city administrators ‘consider’ using CO2-injected concrete in city and county infrastructure where concrete is used.
In late June 2019 CarbonCure announced that its had formed a partnership with HC&D Ready Mix, a local concrete producer, to use its CO2-injected concrete process. It is the second deal with a concrete producer in the state that CarbonCure has arranged.