Displaying items by tag: Plant

Tunisia: Wan Li, the Chinese Ambassador to Tunisia, has revealed that a ‘Chinese company specialising in the cement sector’ is preparing to acquire a cement plant close to the capital city Tunis. The value of the transaction is reported to be more than US$100m. If completed, it would be the first Chinese investment in Tunisia in the 2020s.

Li said "We are confident that this state-of-the-art company will introduce modern techniques and upgrade the plant's equipment, which will have a positive impact on the environment." He also assured that this acquisition will improve the productivity and efficiency of the cement plant.

Australia/Europe: The European Commission (EC) has approved a deal that will see Heidelberg Materials and Holcim acquire joint control of Australian business BGC Cementitious via their joint venture Cement Australia. BGC Cementitious, the cementitious division of the Buckeridge Group of Companies, is active in the cement, concrete, quarrying, asphalt and transportation sectors. The EC concluded that the planned deal would not hurt competition given the limited impact on the European Economic Area. The transaction includes, among others, the Kwinana Cement plant in Western Australia. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

North Korea: Local press has reported that the Chonnaeri cement plant has “over-fulfilled its cement production plan every day.” In a rare statement it attributed this to the “devoted efforts of its officials and workers” who have contributed the Workers' Party of Korea's ‘grand construction plan.’The report follows a 2023 upgrade to the plant’s production line. The plant does not seem to have been affected by supply issues that have affected other producers in the country.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos grew its revenue and earnings in 2024 but its net income dropped significantly due to interest rate volatility. It noted ‘positive performance’ in its Europe and Asia region and a stable market in Brazil. It attributed its mounting earnings to its balanced portfolio, revenue in Europe and Asia, operational efficiency, reduced costs and new business.

The group’s net revenue grew by 3% year-on-year to US$4.69bn in 2024 from US$4.53bn in 2023. However, revenue fell slightly in local currencies due to negative exchange effects, particularly in North America. Cement sales volumes rose by 1% to 35.4Mt from 34.9Mt. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 16% to US$1.14bn from US$0.99bn. Earnings rose in all regions except for Latin America due to a ‘challenging’ market in Uruguay and lower prices in Bolivia. Despite this, its adjusted net income dropped by 17% to US$383m from US$461m.

“We ended the year with record-high operating results, supported by our geographic, product and business diversification, in line with our strategic mandate,” said Osvaldo Ayres, the group’s global CEO. The company invested over US$550m in 2024 towards decarbonisation, competitiveness and new businesses. A further US$880m investment plan in Brazil to 2028 was announced in early 2024. Ongoing projects include upgrades supporting higher thermal substitution rates at the Xambioá plant in Tocantins state and the Salto de Pirapora plant in São Paulo. A new 1Mt/yr cement grinding unit is being built at the Salto de Pirapora site. Construction of this project is scheduled for completion in the second-half of 2025. A new 1Mt/yr cement grinding unit was also announced at the Edealina plant in Goiás. This project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.

Votorantim also revealed that it paid around US$190m to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) at the end of 2024 in connection with an agreement to end all administrative and judicial litigation. It said “We definitively resolved all pending disputes with CADE. We did not acknowledge, at any time, having committed any unlawful act or engaged in any anticompetitive behaviour.”

US: MTR Carbon Capture says that St Marys Cement’s Charlevoix plant in Michigan will be the first cement plant in the world to deploy its Polaris polymeric membrane-based technology. The pilot project aims to capture 3t/day of CO₂ during a six month testing period. It intends to demonstrate that a 95% CO₂ capture rate is achievable.

US-based Membrane Technology and Research (MTR) specialises in the development and production of membrane-based separation systems for the petrochemical, natural gas and refining industries. The company was set up in 1982 and has its headquarters in Newark, California.

Benin: France-based Chovet is reportedly preparing to support the construction of a 2Mt/yr integrated cement plant. Preparatory studies have been completed and construction is ready to start, according to 24 Heures au Bénin. The engineering company will be responsible for supervising all work, providing project management assistance and monitoring the quality of the installed infrastructure. The project was originally mandated at a meeting of the government’s Council of Ministers in late 2022.

Vietnam: The Ministry of Construction has reported a cement surplus to the Prime Minister, blaming a supply-demand imbalance. The country has 92 cement production lines with a capacity of over 122Mt/yr, according to the Việt Nam News newspaper. However, cement and clinker consumption was 95Mt in 2024, with 65Mt used domestically and 30Mt exported.

Planning regulations governing cement plants were relaxed in 2017. Subsequently, local authorities approved 13 new units that added 35Mt/yr in capacity. The Ministry of Construction proposed a national building materials strategy capping total cement production at 125Mt/yr by 2025 and 150Mt/yr by 2030. The ministry has also urged provincial governments to limit new cement projects to prevent excessive supply. It has proposed tightening the planning laws on building new cement plants.

The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) has highlighted weak market demand and production constraints as major challenges to the sector. It has lobbied the government to promote housing, infrastructure and road projects to grow the cement market.

Cameroon: Cameroon will increase its cement production capacity by 4.3Mt to 12.7Mt/yr by the end of 2025 with the addition of three new plants in Édéa, according to Business in Cameroon. The new facilities will help meet local demand and support exports.

The first plant, Sino Africaine (Sinafcim) is under construction and will have a 1Mt/yr capacity. It is set to begin production in April 2025. It will employ 200 workers and 90% will be Cameroonian. The second, Central Africa Cement (CAC), has been operational for several months with a 1.5Mt/yr capacity. It currently employs 100 people and aims to reach 200. The third, Yousheng Cement, is being built near Douala and will have a 1.8Mt/yr capacity. National demand in Cameroon is reportedly around 8Mt.

Nigeria: Dangote Group has resumed construction of a 6Mt/yr cement plant in Itori, Ogun State, according to Business Insider Africa. Itori is 10km from Ewekoro, the site of a 3.9Mt/yr plant owned by Lafarge Africa. Construction of the plant is expected to be completed by November 2026. The company will also build ‘Nigeria’s largest seaport’ at the Olokola Free Trade Zone, also in Ogun State. The plant will have two lines and sits on 533 hectares of land.

Ogun State is already home to the 12Mt/yr Dangote Cement Plant in Ibese. Upon completion of the Itori project, the state’s total cement production capacity will reach 18Mt/yr. Dangote Cement reportedly has a production capacity of 52Mt/yr across Africa, with 70% of production in Nigeria.

Aliko Dangote said “We earlier on abandoned our vision of investing in the Olokola Free Trade Zone but, because of governor Dapo Abiodun’s policies and investor-friendly environment, we are back and will work with the government to return to Olokola. Plans are underway to construct the largest port in the country.”

He said that the nearly US$800m Itori cement plant should have been completed earlier, but was delayed due to opposition from former governor Ibikunle Amosun.

Vietnam: Xuan Son Group held the launch ceremony for Xuan Son Cement at the Xuan Son cement plant in Hoa Binh province on 21 February 2025. The plant spans 40 hectares, with a US$196m investment and a production capacity of 3.5Mt/yr. The plant integrates Polysius grinding technology, Flender transmission systems, Haver & Boecker automated packaging technology and electrical equipment and motors from Pfeiffer, Vacuum and ABB. Heat consumption is below 680kCal/kg of clinker, and electricity consumption is under 71kW/t of cement, according to the company. The plant uses refuse-derived fuel in the kiln, as well as waste heat recovery to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. It aims for zero NO_x and CO₂ emissions.