Global Cement News

North Korea: North Korea and China have held a ceremony to repair a key logistics road along their shared border, the latest sign of boosting economic cooperation between the two neighbours, which included a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of a new cement factory to be built in Rajin-Sonbong Economic Special Zone.

Some 200 officials from the two countries, including Jang Song-thaek, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law and Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming, watched the ceremony in Rason.

Russia: Dmitry Lisenkov, Managing Director of Rusnano and Alex de Valukhoff, General Director of Lafarge in Russia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2011. The MoU signifies the intention of the two parties to begin working together towards the development of innovative and sustainable construction materials designed to provide more value for customers across Russia.

"We are delighted to sign a strategic agreement with Rusnano," said de Valukhoff. "It illustrates our mutual will to collaborate with the aim to introduce joint plants producing high performance mineral additives and fillers. Fostering innovation in sustainable development projects and industry modernisation are amongst our company's key priorities."

"The modern construction industry faces a significant number of challenges, the first of which are energy efficiency, materials durability and environment safety," said Lisenkov. "Therefore innovation in technology for the construction materials production has transformed traditional materials such as cement, concrete and gypsum into more technological and functional ones. In this field, nanotechnology development enables to reach new levels of qualities. Taking into consideration Lafarge's global scientific and research expertise, we see a great prospects in the collaboration with Lafarge in the area of high technology materials production in Russia."

South Africa: AfriSam has announced that, notwithstanding the weak state of South Africa's construction industry, it is resuming its plans for a USD 320.4m integrated cement plant in the Saldanha Bay area to meet future demand.

The country's cement industry is reeling from four years of consecutive declines and has been hit hard by the lull that has followed the completion of large projects related to the 2010 Football World Cup. A seriously depressed housing market started its slide in late 2007 and was further battered by the effects of the global economic downturn.

Despite all of these problems, AfriSam said that it wanted to take advantage of its large limestone deposit near Saldanha and improve market penetration in the Western Cape. With continued population growth and the need for housing and infrastructure, there are indications that the local market will benefit from the presence of an additional cement supplier, according to company CEO Stephan Olivier.

AfriSam says that the proposed Saldanha project will commence with the expansion of its nearby limestone quarry and construction of a cement grinding and packing plant at a cost of about USD 87.4m. Ultimately, an integrated plant will be built alongside at a further cost of about USD 233m.

AfriSam also says the proximity of Saldanha's deep water port will facilitate exports, which will enable the plant to be scaled-up to achieve improved environmental and production efficiency. "We are seeking approval (to build the plant) by means of an environmental impact assessment," said Olivier.

Other cement producers are reportedly bemused by the news, especially because AfriSam intends to construct its new plant in a province that has seen building and construction demand fall by 50% since mid-2007. Anton Weavind, CEO of Conticem said "I know that AfriSam needs to expand but the worst place they could possible do this is in the Western Cape. There is not much money in exporting cement."

Zambia: The Zambian Environment Management Agency (ZEMA) has ordered Ndola Lime Company to shut down its plant, which has caused public outcry by releasing dust emissions higher than the lawful allowable limits. ZEMA's northern region manager Patson Zulu said that ZEMA had revoked the plant's license for its rotary kiln.

"The complaints from some Ndola residents about excessive dust emissions are justified." said Zulu. "At ZEMA, we have no option than to act accordingly. The onus is now on Ndola Lime to see to it that measures are put in place to comply with the country's environmental laws." Zulu warned other companies breaching the regulations, which are believed to include Lafarge operations, that they also risked being shut down. "People should be allowed to enjoy a good quality of life by having air which is not polluted. We shall no longer tolerate environmental mischief," he said.

Ndola Lime's acting general manager Abraham Witika confirmed that his company was failing to meet the lawful allowable dust emission standards because its kiln's dust abetment unit had developed a fault." Ndola Lime Company has already done an assessment on the damaged abatement unit that is responsible for regulating the levels of dust emission and the process to order the replacement has started," he said, adding that it was unfortunate that the plant had developed a fault despite having only having had the dust abetment unit replaced (at a cost of USD 3.5m) in August 2010.

Iraq: Iraq's cabinet has approved a USD 692m contract for the construction of a massive cement factory in southern Iraq. The 185-acre factory will be built in Diwaniya province, around 150km south of Baghdad according to government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

The contract was awarded to a joint venture group consisting of an Iraqi company and an Italian firm, but officials declined to give further details. "(The cabinet) has given approval to award an investment licence to erect a cement factory in Diwaniya province to a (local) firm, which is in a joint venture with an Italian firm for a total value of USD 692m," said the cabinet in a statement.

Iraq has some of the world's largest oil reserves and is opening itself up to foreign investors to help it rebuild after decades of war and economic isolation. The government has set a target of USD 30bn for total investment in 2011, mostly in the energy, housing and agriculture sectors.

The National Investment Commission has previously put together an investment plan of 750 projects valued at USD 600bn for rebuilding the country. Its five-year plan totals USD 186bn, of which USD 86bn is to come from foreign and local private investment.