Displaying items by tag: Unrest

Kazakhstan: International Cement Group has resumed operations at its Almaty cement plant following its suspension of production due to political unrest.

The group said "To safeguard our employees and plant during the nationwide unrest, the company temporarily closed its cement plant located in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan." It added “As far as business is concerned, everything appears back to normal now, but last week we definitely did not know what was going to happen."

Somalia: Security contractors aboard the cement carrier NACC Valbella have repelled an attack by pirates off the coast of Somalia. According to the maritime security firm LSS-SAPU and the Maritime Executive, the ship was transiting 90nm south of Mukallah, Yemen when it was approached by a pirate mother ship. After lighting warnings flares the carrier exchanged gunfire with the pirates before they abandoned their attack and departed. The Valbella did not suffer material damage and no injuries were reported.

Ethiopia: Cement producers have faced disruption due to security concerns in Oromia state. Habesha Cement suspended production at its Holeta plant on 24 October 2017 due to youth protestors who occupied the site, according to the Reporter newspaper. The protestors took over the unit and demanded to be given jobs. The cement producer says that has been active in community development projects and has recruitment policy that gives priority to local communities.

In two separate incidents, five trucks belonging to Dangote Cement were set on fire over the last week in other parts of the state. In one of the incidents, at Ambo, 10 people also died during clashes between protestors and the government.

Libya: British consultants on behalf of the Libyan Cement Company have met with the Benghazi Mayor Abdelrahman Al-Abaar in order to help restart two cement plants in Benghazi and Hawari. Work is due to commence on removing land mines from the sites as well as an assessment of damage caused to the units from fighting that took place in 2016, according to the Libya Herald newspaper. The Libyan Cement Company announced that it was going to reopen the plants in May 2017.

China: Shanshui Cement has said that the Jinan properties of its Shandong Shanshui subsidiary have been illegally occupied by Mi Jingtian, the former deputy general manager of the company and his associates. When the representatives of Shanshui Cement attempted to repossess the unit they were held against their will for over two hours by a hostile crowd until local police helped them to escape. During the debacle some of the directors of Shanshui Cement were hurt. The assailants were also reported as having used pepper spray, smoke bombs and water cannons. Shanshui Cement has called upon the local authorities to investigate the occupation of the properties. Mi Jingtian along with Li Maohuan, Yu Yuchuan, Zhao Liping, Chen Zhongsheng and Liu Xianliang were all dismissed from Shandong Shanshui in early 2017.

India: The closure of eight cement plants in the Kashmir region due to on-going protests has put the jobs of 50,000 workers in jeopardy. A worker who has spoken to the Greater Kashmir newspaper has said that his factory has been closed since early July 2016 and he has not been paid in that period. Local cement producers are estimated to have lost US$45m as importers have benefitted.

Jordan: Local residents are protesting against the use of coal at Lafarge's Rashadiyeh cement plant in Jordan. Despite an agreement being reached on 27 May 2013 between the protesters and Tafileh Governor Hashem Suheim, the protesters blockaded the plant, leading police to intervene with tear gas.

According to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, protestors have demanded that an alternative fuel be used to operate the Rashadiyeh cement plant, as the coal or petcoke used has a serious impact on the health of workers and the surrounding environment.

The Rashadiyeh cement factory was established in 1983 by the Southern Cement Company. In 1985 this was merged with the Jordan Cement Factories Company, which was subsequently privatised and bought by Lafarge.

Central African Republic: 92 Indian nationals are reportedly trapped at a cement plant in Bangui, the capital city of Central African Republic (CAR), which is witnessing massive unrest.

"Most of those trapped in violence are labourers from India who have gone to CAR for employment. Those trapped in the cement factory need help to reach a safe location," said Sunil Dhairiyani, manager Waheguru Travels' Cameroon branch in an interview with the Times of India. Rebels known as Seleka have taken control of the national capital and media in the former French colony with a pledge to topple President Francois Bozize who has fled the country.