Displaying items by tag: Plant
Pakistan: DG Khan Cement is planning to start building a new cement plant at Hub, Balochistan in 2015, according to a company official. The plant will have a production capacity of 2 – 2.5Mt/yr and the project will cost US$250m. The plant will become operation by the end of 2017.
"At present, we are in the phase of finalising vendors for the construction site. In the next phase, we will open letter of credit," the official said.
DG Khan Cement is forecasting development in Balochistan and Sindh and it also hopes to increase movement of its products between provinces in Pakistan. Dispatching cement from the proposed Hub plant will incur lower freight charges compared to transporting cement from DG Khan's existing plants in Punjab.
Construction starts on two cement plants in Tajikistan
09 April 2014Tajikistan: Construction work on two cement plants with a total installed production capacity of 1.8Mt/yr has started in northern Tajikistan. President Emomali Rahmon attended the opening ceremonies of both plants.
The first plant, Ghayur-Sughd Cement - with a production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr - will be built in Ghafur district on a 48 hectare site. The plant will be built by the Tajik Ghayur company together with a Chinese partner, Huaksin Central Asia Investment. The cost of the project is over US$100m. After the plant is commissioned it will employ 1000 people. The first unit of the plant is scheduled for launch in 2015 and the second in 2016. Previously Tajik Ghayur and Huaksin built the 1Mt/yr Yuvon cement plant, which opened in 2013.
President Rahmon also attended the opening ceremony of the construction of Chjuntsay-Taboshar Cement plant. This 0.6Mt/yr plant is scheduled for completion in 2015 and it will employ nearly 500 people.
Dangote Cement to double capacity in 2014
08 April 2014Nigeria: Dangote Cement expects to double its cement production capacity across Africa in 2014 to 40Mt/yr, according to Devakumar Edwin, chief executive of Dangote.
Edwin said that in Lagos the firm would add 9Mt/yr of capacity, bringing it to 29Mt/yr. Dangote will also open plants across Africa that have been several years in the making, adding a further 11Mt/yr of production capacity.
Dangote Cement saw its 2013 profits increase by 40% to US$1.16bn, up from US$498bn in 2012. "The key driver is the increase in volumes. We have kept a focus on controlling costs, however, our focus on volume growth is what has increased our profits," Edwin said.
Dangote has cement plants spanning Africa, though most are in the construction phase. Between them they contribute less than 1Mt/yr to the group's current overall production capacity. That will change in 2014, as plants in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Zambia, South Africa and Ethiopia begin operations. Additional capacity in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia, Tanzania, Congo and in Nigeria would mean that by mid-2016 Dangote is expected to have a 60Mt/yr capacity.
Almost all of the expansion has been funded with internal cash flows, according to Edwin, unlike rivals. "Other cement majors borrowed heavily for mergers. One of the key reasons we have been able to grow aggressively in the African market is because they are cash strapped and we do not have that problem," he said.
Qatar National Cement Company to build new cement line
01 April 2014Qatar: Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC) has signed a letter of intent with Fives FCB to build a fifth cement plant line with a clinker production capacity of 5000t/day. Fives FCB and TPF Basse Sambre will work together to finalise the contract documents by the end of April 2014.
The turkey contract has been valued at US$261m. Construction will start after handing over the site on a phased manner, starting with two cement mills which will be delivered after 17 months and 19 months. The overall project will be completed in 27 months.
Fives FCB was also the contractor for the construction of plant lines two, three and four. QNCC's production capacity is expected to rise to 17,000t/day of clinker and its grinding capacity will rise to 20,000t/day.
Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine to start building US$250m cement plant in 2015
01 April 2014Uzbekistan: The Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine (AMMC) is planning to build a 1.5Mt/yr cement plant in the Surkhandarya region of southern Uzbekistan in 2015. The contract is being negotiated with Turkey's Dal Teknik Makina with a completion date set for 2015, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti. The US$250m project will be financed by equity funds of the AMMC, credits from the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan and local Uzbek banks.
In late March 2014 the AMMC completed construction of a cement plant in Jizzakh region with a value of US$114m. The plant has a production capacity of 0.75Mt/yr of grey OPC and 0.35Mt/yr of white cement. The general contractor of the project was also Dal Teknik Makina.
Sanghi Industries to invest US$41.8m in cement business
31 March 2014India: Sanghi Industries Ltd (SIL) will invest US$41.8m in the next 18 months to increase its cement production capacity by 30%, to acquire ships and construct sea terminals.
Of the US$41.8m, SIL will use US$25.1m to acquire new ships and to construct new sea terminals and the remaining US$16.7m will be used to raise cement production capacity from 2.6Mt/yr to 3.5Mt/yr by the end of 2015.
"Currently, clinker production is higher than cement production at our plant. To correct the mismatch, we are investing US$16.7m to increase the grinding capacity. This will take 14 months before commissioning," said Alok Sanghi, SIL director. The debottlenecking will increase the grinding capacity by 30% of the Abdasa plant in Kutch.
SIL will acquire six vessels in the next five years for the transportation of its products into newer markets to reduce fuel costs and increase distribution capabilities. "We currently charter ships from market for distribution. We will acquire two vessels immediately and then two vessels every 18 months," added Sanghi.
SIL is also in the process of setting up terminals at Navlakhi port in Gujarat and at Mumbai port in Maharashtra. SIL exports 20% of its total production, mainly clinker to the Middle East, Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
SIL has invested over US$334m on the Abdasa plant that began production in 2003."We will have debts of US$75.1m by the end of the current financial year," added Sanghi.
Thach My cement plant starts operation in Vietnam
26 March 2014Vietnam: The Thach My cement plant in Quang Nam province has started operation after a period of delay, according to a statement by Xuan Thanh Investment and Development JSC. The plant had an investment of US$190m with a designed cement production capacity of 1.7Mt/yr in its first phase. It covers an area of 57.36 hectares.
The plant was identified as a key project in the province when construction started in July of 2010. Construction was later delayed due to a shortage of building materials. The plant will create jobs for 1000 labourers, with 800 of these from the local area.
Indonesia: Semen Gresik, a subsidiary of Semen Indonesia, will receive a non-cash loan facility worth US$123m from the lender to build a new 3Mt/yr cement plant in Rembang regency, Central Java.
Cement producer PT Semen Gresik, subsidiary of state-owned PT Semen Indonesia, has secured a letter of credit (L/C) facility to help finance the construction of its newest plant. Under the deal, Abdul Rachman, the state lender of Bank Mandiri, agreed to issue L/Cs for Semen Gresik for the next 42 months to support the purchase of machinery or equipment from overseas. The equipment will be used to construct Semen Gresik's new plant in Rembang, Central Java. The plant is worth US$325m and is expected to commence operations in 2016 with a cement production capacity of 3Mt/yr.
The plants will be operated by subsidiary PT Semen Padang and are currently able to produce up to 6.5Mt/yr of cement. "We are looking to increase the annual capacity by 3Mt/yr and the project will need around US$281m in investment," said Semen Indonesia finance director, Ahyanizzaman. "About half of the costs will be financed by our internal funds and the rest by a syndicated loan, led by Mandiri." Supported by the Rembang and Indarung plants, Semen Indonesia's total production capacity will surge to 40Mt/yr by 2017, from the 31.8Mt/yr that has been forecast for 2014.
Thatta Cement suspends project in Sri Lanka
18 March 2014Sri Lanka: Work on Thatta Cement's cement grinding, storing and bagging plant in Sri Lanka has come to a screeching halt.
The company informed investors on 14 March 2014 that the project was 'temporarily suspended' as the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) had not executed the Land Lease Agreement (LLA), despite the fact that basic engineering of the project had been completed by Thatta Cement Company (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of Thatta Cement Company.
The CFO and company secretary of Thatta Cement, Muhammad Taha Hamdani, complained that the SLPA had also signed an agreement with another business venture of car trans-shipment in close vicinity to the proposed cement project, "Without anticipating the expected operational conflict, which now appears to hinder setting up the proposed cement project within the layout originally planned by the SLPA."
The company official stated that further progress on the project would recommence as soon as the LLA is signed with the SLPA.
Unicem begins construction of second cement line
17 March 2014Nigeria: The United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (Unicem) is investing US$510m in an additional 2.5Mt/yr state-of-the-art cement line to double its existing capacity to 5Mt/yr by 2016.
Sinoma Group is constructing the 2.5Mt/yr new cement line. The project includes the construction of a new 45MW captive power plant by Wärtsilä Nigeria Limited. Work on the project has already started.
Managing director of Unicem, Olivier Leonir, said that cement demand had continued to grow nationally and regionally, especially within the south and south-east regions, with demand currently growing at about 12%/yr.
Leonir said that the project has a lot of economic and social benefits to the people of Cross River state and its neighbouring communities, adding that, "Unicem has a strong commitment to develop local capacity through various initiatives such as the Unicem Community Development Initiative (UCID) and the Graduate Trainee Scheme. We have been enlisting and training young people from the community as mechanical technicians and training young graduate engineers to fill the local manpower gap."
Leonir said that Unicem is also building a US$30.4m 20km cement road infrastructure to cater for the expected traffic increase and to reduce the movement of articulated vehicles within Calabar when the project is completed.