Displaying items by tag: Pakistan

Pakistan: Gharibwal Cement has started commercial operation of a 250t/hr vertical cement mill for grinding cement. It says it is the single largest cement grinding mill in the country. The cement producer operates a 2.1Mt/yr integrated plant at Ismailwal in Chakwal.

Pakistan: Dewan Cement has rejected a takeover bid by Mega Conglomerate to buy a 87.5% stake in it. Chairman Dewan Mohammad Yousuf Farooqui turned down the offer following a valuation of the company, according to the Pakistan Today newspaper. The valuation reported that the value of the cement producer was below the initial offer made by Mega Conglomerate due to low capacity utilisation rates at Dewan’s plants and the need for investment at the sites. Dewan Cement has claimed that negotiations are still on going.

Pakistan: The Peshawar High Court has stopped construction of a cement plant by Fecto Cement at Palai in Malakand. Opponents of the project cited environmental and health concerns, according to the News International newspaper. Fecto Cement announced plans for its new 6000t/day plant in February 2018.

Pakistan: Cement producers have proposed finding an alternative water source in a case about the Katas Raj Temples being adjudicated by the Supreme Court. They have also agreed to pay the Punjab government for any water they use until then, according to the Statesman newspaper. The court was investigating allegations that the pond at the Hindu heritage site was drying out due to water consumption by nearby cement plants.

Bestway Cement and DG Khan Cement proposed that they would submit up to US$17m and US$4m respectively as security deposits until they find alternative water sources. They have also proposed building a small dam in the area, the outflow of which will be maintained in a way that the pond at Katas Raj is not adversely affected. Local cement plants of the two companies are currently using water from nearby river and underground sources.

Pakistan: The Supreme Court has asked cement producers using water near the Katas Raj Temples in Punjab to submit recommendations for a policy on how they should pay for the resource. The court noted that the companies have used water worth ‘billions of rupees’ without any payment, according to the Pakistan Observer newspaper. Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar criticised a local government official, “for giving away everything for free.” The court has been investigating media reports that the pond at the Hindu heritage site was drying out due to water consumption by nearby cement plants.

Pakistan: GE Power has won a contract to design, manufacture and deliver a 132/6.3kV air-insulated switchgear (AIS) grid station to support a new production line being built at Power Cement’s plant in Nooriabad. The project is expected to be completed in early 2019. It will supply the cement plant with a reliable electricity supply from the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company.

Pakistan: Kohat Cement has started commercial operation of a 105t/hr cement mill at its plant. The cement producer operates a single integrated plant at Kohat-Rawalpindi. It is also upgrading the site with a new 7800t/day production line.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 21.6% year-on-year to US$114m in the nine month of its financial year to the end of March 2018 from US$145m in the same period in 2016. It noted that its cost of sales rose by 16.9% due to rising coal and other fuel prices. Its gross revenue rose by 7.1% to US$439m from US$410m. Cement production rose by 11.1% to 5.79Mt from 5.2Mt.

The cement producer added that it is expanding production at its Pezu plant by 2.6Mt/yr due to delays with its expansion plans elsewhere in the north of the country. Approvals from the government have been secured. The US$152m upgrade project is scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2019. It is also building a US$109m integrated cement plant at Samawah in Iraq. The joint-venture project with a local partner will have a cement production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr when operational. Commercial production is currently scheduled for end of 2019.

Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) says that the capacity utilisation of the local cement industry reached 94% in the nine months of the local financial year to March 2018. Demand for cement has been bolstered by local demand and growing exports so far in 2018, according to the Business Recorder newspaper. Cement despatches grew by 14.7% year-on-year to 34.8Mt in the first nine months of the 2017 – 2018 year from 30.3Mt in the same period in the previous period. Despatches grew faster in the north of the country than the south.

Pakistan: Lt Gen Tariq Khan has been appointed as the chief executive and managing director of Fauji Fertilizer Company, the owner of Fauji Cement. He succeeds Lt Gen Shafqaat Ahmed.