Displaying items by tag: Law

Paraguay: The government has re-opened borders to imports of cement due to a national shortage. The Última Hora newspaper has reported that importers will be free to bring cement into the country without having first applied for a provisional import licence. The situation is the result of growth in demand after the coronavirus lockdown and the suspension of production at Yguazú Cementos due to ‘a problem with a transformer.’ The government has already issued Yguazú Cementos with a 15,000t/yr cement import licence due to this.

Russia: Sibirskiy Cement subsidiary Krasnoyarsk Cement has equipped the exhaust stack of its 1.1Mt/yr Krasnoyarsk, Siberia plant with an emissions monitoring system supplied by Finland-based Gasmet. The system provides continuous NO_x, CO₂ and SO₂ monitoring via a UK-based Oxitec 500E gas analyser, Germany-based Durag D-FL-220 flow rate meter and a Gasmet Simatic computer. Krasnoyarsk managing director Vladimir Afanasin said, “We approached the choice of equipment taking into account all the requirements of the Russian environmental legislation, which have recently been significantly tightened.”

Krasnoyarsky Cement will complete preliminary testing of the installation in late 2020.

Nigeria: A Dangote Cement truck overturned on the Epe Bridge in Lagos, landing on a taxi and killing six of its seven passengers. Punch Metro newspaper has reported the cause of the incident was a brake failure due to a mechanical fault with the truck. It is unknown whether the driver was operating illegally. The survivor is receiving hospital treatment.

Azerbaijan: An unidentified sender has threatened executive board members of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim Azerbaijan and their families. Turan Information Agency has reported that an alleged assault was perpetrated against a non-Azerbaijani manager of the company. Holcim Azerbaijan said, “Apparently the transparent activity of our company interferes with the interest of criminal forces.” Law enforcement authorities have launched a full investigation.

Tajikistan: Tajikistan produced 4.20Mt of cement in 2019; up by 11% from 3.80Mt in 2018. Cement exports in the period rose by 11% year-on-year to 1.55Mt from 1.40Mt. 2018’s exports amounted to 0.89Mt (64%) to Uzbekistan, 0.58Mt (41%) to Afghanistan and 0.08Mt (5.8%) to Krygyzstan. Asia-Plus News has reported that tightened pollution legislation in China has driven Chinese-based producers, which accounted for over 90% of Tajik production in 2018, to relocate operations to their country’s western neighbour.

Costa Rica: The government of Costa Rica is considering a measure to increase competition in the local cement market, for which accredited ratings agencies would define regulations on the consistency of cement to be sold in the country. This should enable the import of cement from more distant countries, such as China.

The current law prohibits the sale of cement when more than 45 days have passed since the production date, while the material should maintain a resistance of 28MPa. Economy Minister Welmer Ramos said that the existing regulations impede competition, while there are certified laboratories that are capable of demonstrating the quality of cement. However, there are fears that building works could be damaged if an adequate standard is not established.