Global Cement News

China: China Resources Cement has entered into a strategic co-operative framework agreement with Jianhua Construction Materials (China) Investment Company Limited regarding the supply of cement for a term of five years.

Jianhua will give priority to China Resources Cement for the purchase of cement in all regions where both parties have established production facilities. China Resources Cement will ensure the timely delivery of the required grades and quantities of cement as required by Jianhua at the most 'favourable' market prices.

Jianhua is the largest concrete pile manufacturer in China in terms of production capacity, sales volume and the market share.

Egypt: The managing director of Suez Cement has announced that the company intends to invest US$145m by 2016 energy security measures. US$72.5m will be spent on converting two of its five cement plants for the use of coal instead of gas and diesel. The remaining US$72.5m will be spent on environmental upgrades.

India: Birla Corporation is planning invest around US$154m to set up new units in four states, according to local media. The company will set up three grinding cum blending units in Madhya Pradesh, one grinding unit in Bihar, one blending unit in Uttar Pradesh and another in Jharkhand, which will have a combined capacity of 4.5Mt/yr. Birla Corporation has eight manufacturing facilities located in Pune, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gurgoan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement reported a growth of 28.7% in revenue and 39.4% in profit for the nine months ending on 30 September 2013.

According to the unaudited results, profit before tax (PBT) rose to US$952m, an increase of US$284m on 2012, while operating profit rose by 36.4% to US$989m. Revenue for the period increased by US$404m (28.7%) to US$1822m, compared to US$1542m in 2012.

Commenting on the results, Dangote Cement Group Managing Director, Devakumar V G Edwin, said that demand for cement remained strong in Nigeria, with the company reporting sales nearly 30% higher than in the nine months to 30 September 2012.

"Our plant in Senegal will soon be producing cement and our South African venture, Sephaku Cement, is well on track to open in the early part of 2014. These two plants will be our first production ventures outside Nigeria as we aim to become Africa's leading supplier of cement," said Edwin.

Dangote Cement is reported as Nigeria's leading cement producer, with three plants in Nigeria and plans to expand into 13 other African countries. The group intends to build more integrated, grinding and import facilities across Africa, bringing its total capacity to over 50Mt/yr by the end of 2016.

US: Residents close to Lehigh Cement's Union Bridge cement plant that had been concerned over proposed changes to the mining provisions of the county code have largely had their worries addressed by Lehigh Cement Co., which is looking to expand its quarry in the town and transport limestone via a conveyor belt to its plant in Union Bridge.

Concerns about what time of the day Lehigh would be allowed to store excavated materials and how far away reclamation piles would be from property lines and public roads initially had residents worried about the impacts of the changes sought by Lehigh, a cement manufacturer that employs many residents in the area.

However, after discussions with residents about the proposed changes, residents confirmed that Lehigh had addressed most of their issues.

"They listened, we listened and the relationship at this point in time is pretty decent," said Brian Mobley, chairman of the New Windsor Community Action Project, which was initially concerned about the changes proposed by Lehigh to the mining provisions. Residents had feared that noise and lights late at night could be a nuisance to those who live near the quarry.