Caribbean: Sweden-based Bruks Siwertell has won a new contract to deliver a Siwertell enclosed screw-type ship loader for cement and clinker. It will serve a new cement plant being built by an unnamed end user in the Caribbean. The type-1B ship loader will deliver cement and clinker handling at a continuous rated capacity of 600t/hr, with a peak loading rate of 750t/hr, for vessels up to 20,000dwt. It will be delivered in 2021 and is scheduled to be operational later in the year.

“This is our first Siwertell loader installation in this particular region and it will have to work in one of the most earthquake-prone zones of the world,” said Axel Dahl, Sales Manager, Bruks Siwertell. “The cement industry in the area is currently undergoing some of its most advanced improvements in decades, and as part of this, environmental protection is very much under the magnifying glass.

India: B K Birla Group subsidiary Mangalam Cement has launched cement and clinker production at its Morak cement plant in Rajasthan following an upgrade. The upgrade has increased the plant’s cement capacity by 400,000t/yr and its clinker capacity by 300,000t/yr. The expansions bring Mangalam Cement’s total cement and clinker capacity to 4.4Mt/yr.

France: Denmark-based FLSmidth has won a contract to supply a 400t/day calcined clay production line to Vicat’s Xeuilley integrated cement plant. The order includes flash calciner technology, an environmental control system and alternative fuel (AF) firing, handling and storage equipment. The line will have a design capacity of up to 525t/day and is scheduled for commissioning in 2023. It will enable clinker substitution in cement of up to 40%, according to the supplier. It says that cement produced using calcined clay will have a 16% smaller carbon footprint than its clinker-based equivalent. The value of the contract is Euro26.8m.

Vicat deputy chief executive officer Eric Bourdon said, “EU regulations and increasing demand for more sustainable cement has accelerated the decision to introduce clay as an environmental alternative to clinker in our production. With clay readily available in the area and positive results from pilots at FLSmidth’s test facilities in Denmark, we feel confident about the technology and hope to be able to expand further in the future.”

Mexico: Cemex has forecast full-year earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$3.10bn in 2021, up by 26% year-on-year from US$2.46bn in 2020. The forecast figure is 7% higher than its previous prediction of US$2.90bn in its first quarter 2021 earnings call. The company said that it expects the double-digit growth to continue into 2022. It said that in 2023 and estimated US$400m of additional EBITDA will come from bolt-on investments and its on-going 10Mt/yr cement capacity expansion.

Vietnam: Vietnamese first-half cement production is estimated to have risen by 8% year-on-year to 51.1Mt in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The Viet Nam News newspaper has reported that June 2021 cement production was 10% higher than that in June 2020, at 9.1Mt. Vietnam’s full-year cement production in 2020 was 100Mt.

Colombia: The Colombian prosecution service intends to summon former Cemex Colombia chief executive officer (CEO) Carlos Jacks to face charges in relation to the Maceo cement plant corruption case. Jacks was CEO of the company for 24 years and previously headed Cemex operations in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, according to the Noticias Caracol television channel. A statement made by Camilo González Téllez, the former Legal Vice President, has been used by the prosecutor’s office to press charges against Jacks. So far González is the only senior Cemex executive to have received a custodial sentence in relation to the affair.

In 2016 Cemex fired several senior staff members in relation to the Maceo project and its subsidiary’s chief executive resigned. This followed an internal audit and investigation into payments worth around US$20m made to a non-governmental third party in connection with the acquisition of the land, mining rights and benefits of the tax free zone for the project. Legal proceedings followed in Colombia and the US.

Ghana: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agents and police have raided China-based Empire Cement’s McCarthy Hills cement plant in Accra. The Ghana News Agency has reported that the facility had entered cement production without a licence. The authorities stopped operations at the site and dismissed the staff, including Chinese nationals. Previously, local residents had complained about potential environmental concerns at the site.

India: The Andhra Pradesh branch of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved Sagar Power’s resolution plan for the start of operations at the mothballed Panyam cement plant at Kurnool. Sagar Power intends to pay US$13.5m, together with RV Consulting Services, to settle the debts from the plant’s previous owners, according to the Times of India newspaper. The partners also plan to inject a further US$20.2m of fresh capital into the venture.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has supported a bipartisan deal between the White House and 21 senators towards a deal on a US$953bn infrastructure package. Sean O’Neill, the PCA’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, said that, “America's economic vitality depends on an integrated, national transportation network that moves goods and people safely and efficiently, while ensuring quality of life and economic prosperity for all citizens.” The PCA added that is has continually advocated for a long-term bipartisan infrastructure package and encouraged both parties in the House of Congress to work towards enacting ‘strong’ bipartisan infrastructure legislation.

Jordan: The country’s industrial chambers have made a statement saying that most cement plants are charging ‘average’ prices for cement despite recent rises in energy costs due to imported coal and diesel. In a joint statement the group’s said, that although some plants have increased the price of cement, it does not reflect the increase in real cost to producers, according to the Jordan News Agency. The price of cement has reportedly risen by 12% recently.

The industrial chambers noted that the sector is, “keen to stabilise commodity prices locally and maintain their sustainability." It added that it accomplished this in the interests of citizens during the Covid-19 crisis despite the high price of raw materials. The statement also noted that the country has a cement production capacity of 10Mt/yr but the local market only uses 3Mt/yr.