Displaying items by tag: Roads

Jamaica: Local investor Mark Hart plans to establish a new cement terminal at Montego Bay, St James. Hart plans to invest US$8m in the terminal's construction. The Jamaica Observer newspaper has reported that construction will commence later in 2023. Once operational, the terminal will supply local roadbuilding and hotel, home and hospital construction. Current projects in this vein include a widening of the North Coast Highway and construction of the Montego Bay perimeter road and Runaway Bay and Discovery Bay bypasses, worth a total US$274.5m, and of new hotels with a total of 20,000 rooms.

Buying House Cement operates the only existing cement terminal in Montego Bay. The company imports cement produced in the Dominican Republic by Domicem. It currently serves 10% of Jamaica's demand. Hart is chair of Cargo House Handlers, which holds a 30% stake in the importer.

Hart said " We have highways, we have hotels, we have the hospitals being built in the west, we have a lot of housing projects. The government has a very ambitious plan to provide a lot of housing units. And all these things rely on stable, well-priced cement." He continued "We are proposing to offer an alternative to the one supplier that exists so that they have stability of supply and stability of pricing for the customers, so that the construction industry can continue to do what they do."

India: Adani Cement has won four awards at the Occupational Health, Safety and Sustainability Association of India (OHSSAI) Awards 2023. The producer won two manufacturing sector awards - the OHSSAAI Safety Silver Award and the OHSSAI Road Safety Gold Award - and two individual awards. The individual awards went to Ambuja Cements' chief operating officer Sukuru Ramarao, who won the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Leadership Award, and Ambuja Cements' head of safety, manufacturing and logistics Pankaj Singh, who won the HSE Mentor of the Year Award for his contributions to road safety.

Adani Cement CEO Ajay Kapur said "We are proud to be recognised by OHSSAI for our safety achievements. Safety is an integral part of our overall business strategy, and we are committed to continually improving our safety performance and achieving excellence in all areas of our operations. Safety is everyone's responsibility, and we are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace for our employees."

India: The state government of Himachal Pradesh says that it will take 'legal action' against Adani Group should it fail to reopen its Darlaghat and Gagal cement plants. The Times of India newspaper has reported that measures may include cancellation of the cement producer's relevant land leases. Out-of-work truck drivers agreed to cancel a state-wide road blockade in protest against the closures after the government promised a 'resolution' on 4 February 2022. It now plans to hold talks with Adani Group, in which it will relay truck drivers' offer of an 11% reduction in per-kilometre freight rates to US$0.12/t from US$0.14/t.

Himachal Pradesh industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said that the state government is empowered to take drastic measures in defence of Himachali people's interests.

Geological Survey of India (GSI) officials are reportedly investigating alleged illegal mining at the sites of the Darlaghat and Gagal cement plants.

India: Police arrested 50 truck drivers and union leaders at protests outside Ambuja Cements’ Darlaghat cement plant in Himachal Pradesh on 1 February 2023. The events marked the 50th day of on-going protests against Adani Group’s closure of the Darlaghat and Gagal cement plant following its acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC in September 2022. The Times of India newspaper has reported that cement truck driver’s unions are now threatening to escalate the protests to a ‘chakka jam’ demonstration across Himachal Pradesh. This would involve blocking roads at five planned locations in the state. Union representatives will meet Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on 3 February 2022. Sukhu has repeatedly expressed support for protestors, saying that the state will not tolerate exploitation.

United News of India has reported that protestors on 1 February 2023 voiced criticism of Indian ‘lawlessness’ and of Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) power ‘monopoly’ in the country.

India: The state of Himachal Pradesh will lose US$11.7m-worth of anticipated tax revenues in the first month of Adani Cement’s on-going closure of its Darlaghat and Gagal cement plants. In previous months, the 1.6Mt/yr Darlaghat cement plant paid US$3.29m/month in goods and services taxes, US$1.75m/month in electricity duties, US$1.45m/month in value-added tax (VAT) on diesel, US$640,000/month in mining royalties and US$363,000/month in goods carried by road and additional goods taxes. Meanwhile, the 4.4Mt/yr Gagal cement plant paid US$1.9m/month in goods and services taxes and mining royalties, US$1.57m/month in VAT on diesel, US$1.47m/month in electricity duties and US$701,000/month in goods carried by road and additional goods taxes.

The Tribune India newspaper has reported that, despite attending several rounds of talks with the state administration, Adani Cement has yet to signal any intention to resume operations at the plants. Both facilities have been closed since 15 December 2022.

US: Martin Marietta Materials recorded revenues of US$4.68bn throughout the first nine months of 2022, up by 20% year-on-year from US$3.92bn. Cement sales contributed US$455m, 9.7% of total revenues, up by 27% from US$358m. Cost of revenues rose by 4% for the group, to US$3.62bn from US$2.92bn. Nonetheless, Martin Marietta Materials successfully recorded nine-month net earnings growth of 25% year-on-year, to US$638m from US$546m.

Chair and CEO Ward Nye said that double-digit price growth drove the company's record profitability. He said "Importantly, we expect a return to expanding margins in the fourth quarter of 2022, as the compounding effect of multiple pricing actions throughout the year offsets continued inflationary pressure and a slowdown in single-family residential construction. Martin Marietta's strategic coast-to-coast footprint is well positioned for long-term growth, driven by favourable population migration trends, housing shortages in our markets and a long-term federal highway bill complemented by healthy Department of Transportation budgets in the company's key states. Near-term, we expect affordability-driven headwinds in the single-family residential end market will be offset by a significant acceleration in public infrastructure investment and continued strength in large-scale energy, domestic manufacturing and multi-family residential projects."

Nigeria: The government of Kogi State ordered Dangote Cement to shut down its Obajana cement plant within 48 hours on 13 October 2022. Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello also ordered the release of impounded Dangote Cement trucks across the state.

Bello thanked Kogi residents for their “resoluteness in the ownership impasse between Dangote Group and the state government.” He added, "While the state government recognises the right of the citizens to peaceful protest, as we witnessed across the state yesterday, we urge people to remain civil and law abiding and to give room for constitutionalism. Breakdown of law and order will not be in the interest of anyone."

Lorry drivers blocked the Abuja - Lokoja road in protest against the closure on 14 October 2022, according to the Advocate newspaper. Meanwhile, a gang has raided the plant, destroying property and shot firearms at the 27 employees who remained on site.

US: The Nevada Department of Transportation has approved the use of Portland limestone cement (PLC) for road construction and repairs. The department expects the move to reduce CO₂ emissions by 4000t/yr. It uses 45,000t/yr of cement in its projects. Local press has reported that transport contributed 35% of Nevada’s CO₂ emissions in 2022, making it the largest single source.

Colombia: Cementos Argos says that 368,000 people directly benefited from its social investment programmes in Colombia in 2021. During the year, the company invested US$4.56m in projects including its Hogares Saludables home improvement programme and its Via Forte road infrastructure programme. The Via Forte programme has laid 600km of road since 2017, while the Hogares Saludables programme aims to assist and improve over 10,000 homes by 2027.

Tanzania: Dangote Cement has signed an agreement with the Tanzanian Ports Authority whereby it will ship cement from its Mtwara cement plant and raw materials for its Tanzanian operations via the Port of Mtwara. Ecofin Agency News has reported that the company previously used the road network for both materials. This had a negative impact on local roads and prevented it from exporting the Mtwara cement plant’s cement overseas.