Displaying items by tag: Plant
Siam Cement Group to build third cement plant in Cambodia
02 February 2017Cambodia: Thailand’s Siam Cement Group (SCG) is preparing to open its third cement plant in Battambang province in 2018. Chan Sophal, the governor of Battambang, said that SCG started building the plant in 2016 and has almost completed it, according to the Khmer Times newspaper. SCG is a majority shareholder in local producer Kampot Cement. Once operational the plant will have a production capacity of 1.8Mt/yr.
Australia: Adelaide Brighton has raised concerns about a South Australia state plan to build housing and tourism facilities near to its Birkenhead cement plant in Adelaide. At a public meeting held by the Development Assessment Commission, a local planning body, the cement producer expressed its concerns that building more housing would create more complaints about the plant’s activities, according to the Portside Messenger newspaper. It added that the government should consider building buffers to reduce noise and dust pollution from the site. The local government wants to build a tourism development near Cruickshank’s Beach and the cement plant.
Government auditor criticises Jammu and Kashmir Cements for allowing contractor to abandon cement plant project
30 January 2017India: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has criticised the management of Jammu and Kashmir Cements for allowing a contractor to abandon a contract to upgrade a cement plant without incurring a financial penalty. The subsequent reduction in production between 2010 and 2014 led the plant to loose an estimated US$5.6m, according to a report seen by the Early Times newspaper.
Engineering contactor Promac Engineering Industries was originally awarded a US$10.5m contact to upgrade the plant in 2005. Work started in June 2006 but the contractor left the site in 2010. The original terms of the agreement required Promac to complete the upgrade within 26 months and pay a financial penalty if the plant’s production capacity fell, if any increase in power or fuel consumption occurred or if the contract was delayed. Additionally, a packing plant that was built as part of the contract remained unused until 2015.
Venezuela: The Venezolana de Cementos (Vencemos) Guayana grinding plant in Bolivar state needs US$47m to repair its transport fleet. Union head Johnny Linares said that only four vehicles out of 65 are working correctly in comments made to the Ultimas Noticias newspaper. The fleet is used to move clinker from the cement producer’s Pertigalete cement plant to the grinding plant. Production capacity at the plant fell to 28% at 97,000t in 2016 from 346,000t in 2012. Linares added that the national cement industry only received an investment of US$7m in 2016 but that he believes it requires US$25m/yr.
Pakistan: Lucky Cement’s sales have risen by 13% year-on-year to US$514m for the six months to 31 December 2016 from US$454m in the same period in 2015. Its profit after tax rose by 14% to US$83m from US$73m. It attributed the increase in revenue on rising sales volumes and its cost of sales fell due to lower fuel costs.
Its cement sales volumes rose by 5.4% to 3.5Mt from 3.3Mt, although exports fell by 16.3% to 0.75Mt from 0.9Mt. Overall the cement producer reported that its market share in Pakistan grew slightly to 18.8% due to an increase in its share of domestic sales.
The cement producer reported that construction at its Punjab cement plant project is awaiting governmental approvals and that it is expected to start in June 2017. A waste heat recovery unit at its Pezu plant is planned to finish commissioning and start operation by the end of January 2017. A joint-venture 1.18Mt/yr plant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo started commercial operation in December 2016 and a 0.87Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Iraq is expected to come online in August 2017.
South Africa: The Congress of South African Trade Unions, a federation of unions, has publicly complained about government permission granted to China’s CBMI Construction to bring workers into the country. CBMI Construction was awarded a tender for a US$90m upgrade project at PPC’s Slurry plant in 2015 and the union says it was allowed to import 242 Chinese workers to work on it. It is alleged that these workers have been working in the country since October 2015 and will continue to do so until 2018. The federation has asked the Department of Labour to look into the issue.
Egypt: Misr Beni Suef Cement has delayed the installation of a coal mill at its Beni Suef plant to the third quarter of 2017. Farouk Mostafa, managing director of the company, said that the delay has been caused by a shortage of US Dollars needed to pay to import the mill and its spare parts and general currency variations with the Egyptian Pound that has raised prices, according to Daily News Egypt. The mill was originally planned for December 2016.
UAE: The Environment Protection and Development Authority (EPDA) of Ras Al Khaimah is investigating unexpected emissions from a cement plant in Khor Khuweir. Resident had reported high levels of dust from the site, according to the Khaleej Times. An initial inspection by the EPDA has blamed the emissions on a blocked filter. It has also ordered the company that runs the plant to conduct an internal investigation and submit a detailed report on the incidents.
Previously the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment had ordered the one-month closure of a cement plant in the same area for breaking emissions rules. The EPDA has since installed surveillance cameras at 20 quarries and six cement units in the emirate.
Local government votes against Colacem plant project in Ontario
26 January 2017Canada: The Champlain Township council in Ontario has voted against planning changes to allow Colacem to build a cement plant in nearby L’Orignal. However, the United Counties of Prescott and Russell have voted in favour of the project, according to the Review newspaper. The cement producer requires approval from both bodies in order to proceed with the project. It wants to build a 3000t/day cement plant at the site next to a limestone quarry it already operates.
Kokshe Cement to launch cement plant later in 2017
26 January 2017Kazakhstan: Commissioning of the Kokshe Cement plant in the Akmola region is expected to be completed later in 2017. Construction and installation work at the site has been completed, according to the Kazakhstan government. The plant will have a cement production capacity of 2Mt/yr and it has cost US$187m to build.