Global Cement News

Egypt: ASEC Cement expects full production from the Arab National Cement Company (ANCC) in Minya to begin by the first quarter of 2013, creating 400 direct jobs and 1500 indirect jobs.

ASEC Cement has confirmed that it is on track to start commissioning at the US$335m ANCC plant , its 1.9Mt/yr clinker greenfield plant in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Minya, in the final months of 2012. ASEC Cement is the largest shareholder in ANCC with a 45% stake in the project.

Civil engineering work on site was completed by the end of 2011 but construction delays occurred due to the national political situation. ANCC and ARESCO, the contractor responsible for the steel fabrication and mechanical erection of the plant, and an ASEC Holding portfolio company are now implementing a recovery plan to complete mechanical and steel installation by the third quarter of 2012.

ANCC is one of Egypt's biggest project finance deals. In September 2010 ANCC signed an US$182m loan to finance the construction of its plant in Minya. The syndicated loan agreement involves a consortium of seven leading Egyptian and regional banks, which will cover 52% of the US$335m investment with the balance financed by the equity of ANCC. Other shareholders in ANCC include Misr Qena Cement (13.9%), Safari Investments (30.7%), IFU/FLS (9.2%) and other shareholders (1.1%).

Panama: Mexican cement manufacturer Cemex is the sole cement supplier for Panama City's metro line 1.

Cemex will provide nearly 0.1Mt of cement for the construction of the line, which will run 13.6km from the San Miguelito neighbourhood in the north of the city to the Albrook bus terminal in the south, with 11 stations in total. Construction is being carried out by Spanish firm FCC and Brazil's Odebrecht at an estimated total cost of US$1.45bn.

Line 1 will be both above and below ground will and include tunnels, trenches and viaducts. It is expected to have an initial capacity to transport 15,000 people per hour in 2014, rising to 40,000 by 2035. The line will make Panama the first Central American country to have a metro system.

China: Timken Company has supplied bearings for one of China's largest vertical slag mills, featuring a 5.7m grinding table. The mill, one of several now utilising Timken bearings, was developed by CITIC Heavy Industries Co Ltd, one of China's top manufacturers of cement-producing equipment. According to CITIC, the new vertical slag mill produced by CITIC is expected to produce up to 1.2Mt/yr of ground slag for inclusion in cement and concrete products.

"Many sizable construction projects underway across China require large amounts of quality concrete," said Leong Fang, president of Timken China. "We work closely with CITIC and other customers in this important industry to make sure they can meet the growing demands of their customers for concrete and other construction materials. Our recent success is a testimony to teamwork and innovation for the two companies."

Argentina: Loesche, the German producer of vertical roller mills for the cement industry, has been awarded a contract by InterCement in Argentina for the supply of a solid fuel mill for its cement plant in Barker, Argentina.

The Loesche LM 35.3 D mill will be used for InterCement's Barker Coal project and will be used to replace natural gas in the kiln. The solid fuel dry-grinding plant will be designed for the grinding of coal and petcoke with product rates of 45t/hr for coal and 30t/hr for petcoke respectively. The mill's main drive power rating will be 960kW.

Besides the mill, the order comprises the complete machinery of the grinding plant in between the raw coal storage and the pulverised fuel dosification area. Electrical equipment and automation systems as well as the steel structures for buildings will be delivered by Loesche. Complete delivery is scheduled for the second half of 2012.

Czech Republic: Czech cement production posted a year-on-year drop of 14% to 466,000t in the Jan-March 2012 period owing to the fall of the construction sector and a colder winter, according to the latest data of the Czech Cement Producers' Association. Cement producers commented that domestic consumption and cement exports also went down.

"A combination of several effects was behind the significant drop in Czech cement production and consumption in the first quarter," said Ceskomoravsky cement board chairman Jan Hrozek. He also blamed unclear policies from the Czech Transport Ministry and the resulting changes that these had on priorities in infrastructure projects.

First-quarter cement sales on the domestic market were 8% lower at 404,000t. Exports sank by 24% over the same period. Cement producers have said that the outlook for 2012 is currently uncertain.

"Overall I expect domestic cement consumption to stagnate in 2012, with possible recovery to come at the end of the third quarter," Hrozek added.

Leading cement producers in the Czech Republic include Ceskomoravsky cement of the German group HeidelbergCement, French group Lafarge, Swiss company Holcim and the Czech branch of Dyckerhoff of Germany.