Displaying items by tag: construction

Germany: Solid UNIT Germany, the German construction sector association, has launched its climate advisory board. The board will advise on and jointly instigate initiatives together with the Solid UNIT Germany management board. Its membership comprises representatives from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), the Institute for Sustainable Construction in Germany (ARGE) and the Federal Chamber of Architects, along with members of parliament.

Solid UNIT Germany managing director Thomas Zawalski said "To cope with the Herculean task ahead of us, it is important to bundle experience. Faster CO₂ reduction in the building sector is only possible through joint action by all stakeholders."

Canada: The city administration of Langford in British Columbia plans to enact regulations requiring all public and private projects to use reduced-CO₂ concrete. It plans to support the rules with parallel measures affecting the design of buildings.

Victoria News has reported that the city authorities previously mandated reduced-CO₂ cement for all projects in June 2022, but subsequently relaxed the regulations after only one company – Butler Concrete and Aggregates – completed the transition. Butler Concrete and Aggregates produces its reduced-CO₂ concrete using slag cement supplied by Lafarge Canada.

UK: Breedon Group's sales were Euro1.57bn in 2022, up by 13% year-on-year from Euro1.39bn in 2021. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 16% to Euro166m from Euro143m. The group increased its cement volumes by 9.1% during the year, to 2.4Mt from 2.2Mt.

Breedon Group said "The outlook for the cement market is positive, underpinned by large ongoing infrastructure projects in the UK. In Ireland, housing and infrastructure are supported by the government’s development plans to accommodate a rapidly growing population."

Pakistan: Dandot Cement recorded a net loss after taxation of US$463,000 during the first six months of the 2023 financial year. This corresponds to a year-on-year rise of 8% from US$429,000 in the first half of the 2022 financial year. Its finance costs rose by 10% to US$437,000, while its administrative expenses fell by 18% to US$71,400.

The producer's 0.5Mt/yr Lahore cement plant closed in 2019 for a 'balancing, modernisation and replacement' upgrade. Dandot Cement says that the on-going project is on schedule for completion before the end of the current Pakistani financial year on 30 June 2023. The company anticipates a rise in domestic cement demand due to new infrastructure projects and the renovation of existing infrastructure. However, it noted several principal risks and uncertainties, namely rising coal, diesel and electricity prices, rising interest rates, currency devaluation and current overcapacity in the Pakistani cement industry.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials' sales increased by 13% year-on-year to Euro21.1bn in 2022 from Euro18.7bn in 2021. This was despite a 6.1% drop in cement and clinker volumes, to 119Mt from 127Mt. Heidelberg Materials' cement and clinker volumes fell by 10% in Western and Southern Europe, by 7.8% in Northern and Eastern Europe-Central Asia, by 14% in North America, by 1.3% in Africa-Eastern Mediterranean Basin and by under 1% in Asia-Pacific. The group's materials costs rose by 23% to Euro21.4bn from Euro18.8bn. Meanwhile, its profit dropped by 9.4% to Euro1.72bn from Euro1.9bn.

Chief executive officer Dominik von Achten said "It’s evident that we can only be profitable in the long term by shaping our future as a company in a climate-compatible way, further reducing the footprint of our products and closing material loops. We are making good strides in all areas. Compared with the previous year, we were able to reduce our specific net CO₂ emissions by another 2% in 2022. Our carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects launched worldwide are progressing favourably. At our CCS project in Brevik, Norway, we are well on track with the construction of the world's first CO₂ capture plant in our industry, and we look forward to commissioning in 2024." Von Achten continued "We have made a good start to 2023. The fourth quarter showed that we have laid a good foundation for the development in this year. Volatility on energy and raw material markets remains high, but the current easing in energy prices is giving us some breathing room. On the demand side, government infrastructure plans should compensate for the decline in private housing construction. We are optimistic about the further course of the year.”

Australia: Hallett Group said that a 42m-high storage dome at its upcoming Port Adelaide cement terminal deflated amid on-going construction work at the site on 2 February 2023. ABC News has reported that Hallett Group plans to rebuild the structure at the facility in South Australia. It said that the supplier of the dome's outer skin has sent representatives from Canada to supervise in the reconstruction.

When commissioned, the Port Adelaide cement terminal will distribute cement from Hallett Group's Port Augusta slag cement grinding plant in the north of the state.

India: Market research company CareEdge Research has forecast an 8 - 9% year-on-year rise in all-Indian cement demand to 380 - 390Mt throughout the 2023 financial year, which will end on 31 March 2023. CareEdge Research recorded an 11% year-on-year rise in domestic cement demand during the first eight months of the 2023 financial year, up to 30 November 2022. It attributed the growth to increased urban housing development and infrastructure activity. The market research company expects these factors to continue to drive demand growth into the final quarter of the financial year.

India produced 356Mt of cement in the 2022 financial year, up by 20% year-on-year from 296Mt in the 2021 financial year.

China: China Resources Cement (CRC) recorded a 74 - 78% year-on-year net profit drop in 2022. As such, its full-year net profit was US$255 - 302m. Reuters has reported that the group attributed the drop to subdued demand from construction, increased production costs and low cement and clinker prices in the regions where it operates.

Despite the slow situation in the construction market, CRC's property development arm recorded a rise in its rental income throughout 2022.

Egypt: LafargeHolcim Egypt supplied 8200t of its ECOPlanet reduced-CO₂ cement for construction of Alamein Downtown Towers in Alamein City. The producer said that the cement reduced the project's carbon footprint by 45% compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The government contracted China-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation for construction of the five-tower development. Three of the buildings will be residential, while the remaining two will house business and events facilities.

Ireland: CRH has announced the launch of its new innovation investments company CRH Ventures. The new subsidiary has funds of US$250m and will focus on the technologies that address the construction sector's core challenges. The group said that CRH Ventures' investment decisions will assess potential for decarbonisation, automation and the development of advanced sustainable building products, among other factors.

CRH's CEO Albert Manifold said "The launch of CRH Ventures demonstrates our continued commitment to investing in new technologies that will shape the built environment of tomorrow. CRH Ventures will serve as a valuable partner to start-ups and entrepreneurs, which will benefit from the technical capabilities, knowledge and expertise of a global industry leader, to pilot and scale new technologies and innovations that will enable safer, smarter and more sustainable construction.”