Displaying items by tag: Upgrade
Cemento Andino to launch second production line
23 October 2013Venezuela: Cemento Andino plans to build a second production line taking its cement production capacity to 2Mt/yr from 0.7Mt/yr. People's Minister for Industries, Ricardo Menendez, made the announcement on a visit to the cement plant in the state of Trujillo. He added that Chinese contractors will be working on the project.
Tanga Cement launches US$160m clinker line project
21 August 2013Tanzania: Tanga Cement Company has launched a US$160m expansion project that includes building a new clinker production line. Tanga board chairman Lau Masha said that the project was scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2015.
"Apart from increasing our clinker manufacturing capacity to match the current cement grinding capacity, this project will also reduce cement manufacturing costs, improve quality and increase cement availability," said Masha.
He said that the first phase of the plant expansion project, which involved installation of cement mill number two between 2009 and 2010, increased the plant's cement grinding capacity by 73% to 1.3Mt/yr. However clinker production capacity remained at 500,000t/yr with the short-fall being covered by imports.
Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement plans to invest US$12m to install waste heat recovery (WHR) systems at two of its cement plants. The company has decided to build WHR technology at its Tochigi plant and to a plant in Aomori Prefecture operated by a subsidiary. Previously Sumitomo Osaka installed WHR systems at its Ako plant in Hyogo Prefecture and at its Kochi Precture plant.
Grupo Gloria to spend US$217m on Yura upgrade
17 July 2013Peru: Peruvian industrial conglomerate Grupo Gloria plans to invest US$217m towards upgrading production at its Yura cement plant near Arequipa. The plant currently has a cement production capacity of 3.5Mt/yr and the upgrade is expected to double production by 2016.
The project will include the installation of a new clinker line with a capacity of over 4500t/day, a new cement mill and bagging, pallet and loading equipment. The work will create more than 3000 direct jobs and over 9000 indirect ones.
Construction is set to start in 2013 with the mill complete by mid-2014 and the new clinker line ready by the end of 2016. Grupo Gloria is targeting the additional cement capacity at the south of Peru and Bolivia.
Madras to install limestone beneficiation plants
15 July 2013India: Madras Cements is to set up limestone beneficiation plants to help it improve its cement raw material resources and extend the lifespan of its limestone mines. Once the beneficiation plant is in place, low-grade limestone will be processed to 12.5% SiO2 content. The cement plant will then use equal quantities of beneficiated and high grade limestone.
Madras will install the first of such plant at a cost of US$5m at Alathiyur in Tamil Nadu, where it has a 3Mt/yr cement plant. Once the 400t/hr beneficiation unit is stabilised, the company will establish similar facilities at other plants, according to A V Dharmakrishnan, Mardas' CEO. He said that, following the installation of the plants, the company will be able to avoid wasting huge quantities of its limestone supplies, extending the life of its limestone quarries.
Currently Madras' limestone can have up to 30% SiO2 content can be as high as 30%. It is either rejected or blended with high-quality limestone (8% SiO2) purchased from an outside source.
Hima Cement completes bag filter upgrade
10 July 2013Uganda: Hima Cement has completed the installation of new bag filter technology at its Kasese plant. The US$3.2m bag filter technology investment is geared towards bringing the stack emissions in line with the global environmental standards.
"We invested significant resources to conduct environmental impact assessments to ensure that the plant operations met all the required environmental standards for its manufacturing processes and operations," said Peter Robson, Hima Cement's Plant Manager.
Hima Ciment, part of Bamburi Cement that in turn is a subsidiary of Lafarge, expects the plant's target emissions to be below Lafarge's industrial targets. Further testing is expected to be completed by the end of July 2013. Project manager Jackson Molo added that Bamburi Cement achieved 0.01mg/m3 emissions with the same technology at a plant in Mombasa in 2012. The Kasese plant has a cement production capacity of 0.85Mt/yr.
Zimbabwe: The Sino-Zimbabwe Cement Company has commenced its first phase of upgrading and refurbishing its Gweru factory. Work on the cement mill and rotary kiln is set to increase the clinker production capacity up to 0.2Mt/yr by the end of 2013. A second phase, also due for completion in 2013, will upgrade warehousing and storage facilities. Further upgrade work is planned for 2014.
"We are upgrading the capacity and efficiency of our cement mill so as to meet growing local and regional demand. The cement mill will be modernised with third generation technology that will immensely improve our efficiency and quality of product. This technology is also the first of its kind in Zimbabwe," said the company in a statement.
The Sino-Zimbabwe Cement Company is the product of a joint business venture between a Chinese foreign direct investment partner, China Building Material Industrial Corporation for Foreign Econo-Technical Co-operation (CBMC), and the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe Limited. CBMC contributed 65% of the original funding in the form of modern technology and expertise while IDC provided land, civil works, manpower and local knowledge. The cement plant has been in operation since 2001.
Shiva Cement plans US$45m upgrade
10 July 2013India: Shiva Cement is planning to upgrade its cement production capacity to 1Mt/yr with an investment of US$45m. The cement producer currently has a capacity of 0.13Mt/yr at Rourkela in Odisha. The company has an agreement with ACC, who holds a 13% stake in Shiva Cement, to sell its entire production.
"Since we have the requisite land at our existing facility and all the approvals are in place, we expect the project to be completed by the first half 2015," said RP Gupta, chairman and managing director of Shiva Cement. In a second phase the company plans to further increase its capacity to 2Mt/yr.
Lafarge prepares US$47m expansion in 2013
29 May 2013Philippines: Lafarge Republic has set aside US$47m for capital expenditure in the Philippines in 2013 to increase cement production capacity to meet demand. President Renato Sunico made the announcement at the company's annual stockholders' meeting in response to a profit of US$23.6m in the first quarter of 2013, a 35% increase year-on-year from US$17.5m in 2012. He added that the industry expects total demand for cement to increase by 6 to 8% in 2013.
Lafarge Republic is increasing its capital expenditure for a new mill at its plant located in Teresa, Rizal which will have a capacity to produce 850,000t/yr from 2015 onwards. It is also automating the processes of some of its plants, including that in Norzagaray, Bulacan. Sunico added that various productivity improvement projects are also expected to deliver additional capacity to supply the rising cement consumption. He noted that the company is planning to add an additional 2.3Mt/yr in cement milling capacity by 2015 to its current capacity of 6Mt/yr.
"We are predominantly strong in Luzon because all our four plants are here. We wanted a national footprint so we are moving to Davao, Iloilo, Batangas and mostly to Cagayan," said Sunico. He added the company is relying on the growth of high-rise real estate projects, increasing remittances of overseas Filipino workers and increases in the call centre industry to boost cement demand.
In 2012 Lafarge Republic spent US$35.3m on improvements at its cement plant in Danao City, for its Iligan City pre-heater project and the construction of the feeding system for refuse-derived fuel (RDF) at its Bulacan plant.
Tajikistan: Tojikcement, Tajikistan's largest cement plant, has been accused of failing to replay US$2.5m to the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP), a Czech state-owned credit insurance company. However, the Tajikistan Ministry of Energy and Industries has announced that a Chinese firm has started preparations for a major upgrade costing US$7.73m.
Hana Hikelova, chair of the EGAP PR department, made the accusation and has been quoted by Asia Plus news agency. According to Hikelova, EGAP in insured a loan provided by the Czech Export Bank to Tojikcement for modernisation of the Dushanbe cement plant in 2006. According to a statement released by the Czech Embassy in Tashkent in February 2013, "The main problem of further development of Czech exports is the unsettled debt of Tojikcement."
Meanwhile, on 10 May 2013 the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI) Secretariat announced that Beijing Uni-Construction Group had started preparations works at Tojikcement, to install a coal-fired rotary kiln. Eleven Chinese specialists are reportedly working in the plant in Dushanbe. The coal-firing kiln is expected to be delivered to Dushanbe in mid-June 2013 and the installation work is expected to be completed by mid-September 2013, an official source at a MoEI said. The total cost of the upgrade is US$7.73m, with US$150,000 provided by Tojikcement and the remainder by Beijing Uni-Construction Group.
Tojikcement, which has a cement production capacity of 1.1Mt/yr, is the largest cement producer in Tajikistan. The plant has not been operational since the beginning of 2013 due to a lack of natural gas supplies. Currently there are five cement plants operational in Tajikistan with a combined cement capacity of 1.3Mt/yr. In 2012, Tajikistan produced 235,000t, including 203,000t produced by Tojikcement.