Global Cement News

Bolivia/Paraguay: Bolivia’s Fábrica Nacional de Cemento (Fancesa) is planning to build a new cement grinding plant and terminal near the border with Paraguay. The project is budgeted at US$16m and it may be built as a joint venture, according to the Correo del Sur newspaper. The cement producer is also about to deliver its first consignment to Paraguay.

Colombia: Grupo Argos and Mexico’s Grupo Calidra have inaugurated a new US$40m lime plant at Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia. The unit has a production capacity of 90,000t/yr, according to the El Colombiano newspaper. The plant is the only one in Colombia capable of producing pulverized limestone. Grupo Argos and Grupo Calidra will operate the plant under a joint venture named Caltek. The new plant is expected to create 100 jobs.

Pakistan: Fecto Cement plans to build a new 6000t/day cement plant at Palai in Malakand. The project will also include a waste heat recovery unit.

India: Around 1500 villagers have protested against a cement plant that Ramco Cement plans to build in the Jaipur district of Odisha. The protestors have expressed fears that the plant will damage their crops, according to the Pioneer newspaper. A representative of the local government said that the project has already received environmental clearance.

Malaysia: Cahya Mata Sarawak's (CMS) sales from its cement division have fallen in 2017 due to lower sales volumes of cement and concrete. However, the cement producer said that the average production cost per tonne of cement had fallen due to cheaper coal prices and cheaper imported clinker. Its sales revenue fell by 7.5% year-on-year to US$133m in 2017 from US$144m in 2016. Its operating profit fell by 3.5% to US$25.9m from US$26.8m. The division also benefitted from the opening of the Mambong grinding plant in late 2016.