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Japan/Singapore: Taiheiyo Cement, which operates a cement terminal in Singapore through Singapore Cement Manufacturing (SCMC), a joint venture with Singapore-based Hong Leong Asia Ltd, has completed a new 24,000t cement silo at SCMC's cement terminal in Singapore.
Infrastructure investment, including subway and highway construction, is driving the robust cement market in Singapore and fuelling demand for low-heat-type cement as a way to prevent thermal cracking in concrete structures with large cross-sections (so-called mass concrete).
Coinciding with the construction of SCMC's new silo, Taiheiyo Cement has developed a new type of cement specifically formulated to satisfy Singapore's local needs. The new export-oriented product, which is manufactured using Portland cement and admixture ingredients such as fly ash from coal-fired power plants, qualifies as type CEM II as defined by Singapore's cement quality standard (SS EN 197-1). The new cement has greater resistance to thermal cracking due to its low-heat and low-shrinkage characteristics, higher long-term strength, improved workability and lower alkali-silica reactivity. It is also certified under the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS) and therefore carries a Green Label in recognition of its environmental friendliness, which was demonstrated during a series of tests carried out with the cooperation of local users and experts. SCMC also used the new cement in the construction of its new silo and in the process verified its performance.
Taiheiyo plans to manufacture the product using fly ash that has been selected, formulated and managed with the cooperation of domestic Japanese power companies. It is expected to contribute to the effective use of fly ash from newly-built coal-fired power plants in Japan. Going forward, SCMC plans to use the new silo for CEM II, complementing its Ordinary Portland Cement and expanding its business through the supply of new cement that meets local needs.
Sagar Cements to start railway line in July 2015 08 June 2015
India: Sagar Cements expects to commission its US$18.7m, 7km private railway line in July 2015.
"The company had already received its first train and full commercial operations will begin after safety checks by the end of July 2015," said executive director S Sreekanth Reddy. The railway line is likely to boost the company's market reach and slash its freight costs.
The line will connect Sagar's cement plant near Matampally in Nalgonda, Andhra Pradesh, with the main railway line. It will provide cheaper inward and outward freight. "We expect to save US$1.56 – 1.87m/yr with the inward freight," said Reddy.
Pakistani cement exports fell by 26% in May 2015 08 June 2015
Pakistan: Cement exports fell by 26.1% to 560,000t in May 2015 as cheap Iranian cement is eating Pakistan's market share in Afghanistan, according to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). Pakistan exported 750,000t of cement in May 2014.
"Iranian cement is fast making inroads into Afghanistan," said an APCMA spokesperson. APCMA data showed that exports dropped by 10.8% to 6.64Mt between July 2014 and May 2015. Cement makers exported 7.44Mt in the same period of the 2013 – 2014 financial year.
The APCMA appealed to the government to support local manufacturers in winning back the Afghan market by withdrawing duties, which would enable them to compete with highly-subsidised Iranian cement. There is a 5% federal excise duty and a 17% general sales tax on the retail price of cement. "The taxes are equal to around US$1.56/bag," said the spokesperson. "The incidence of high taxation encourages evasion and negatively impacts consumption." He added that the government should gradually bring federal excise duty to zero, as announced by the previous government.
Exports from the south increased by 4.5% in the July 2014 to May 2015 period. These exports go via the sea. However, exports from the north decreased by 18.3% due to the Iranian cement factor, as exports from the north usually go to Afghanistan. The spokesperson said that Iran is also dumping its cement in Balochistan, Pakistan and that cement smuggling from Iran to Balochistan is resulting in substantial losses to national exchequer. "Policy makers ignored warnings from the cement industry over the inundation of Iranian cement in Afghanistan," he said. "It has penetrated our local market." He said that full taxes are not paid on Iranian cement imports.
A road trailer entering Pakistan from the Taftan border carries up to 60t of cement. A transporter issues two different weight loads receipts, one for the customs department and another one for freight purposes. The APCMA said that if taxes are fully paid, the price of Iranian cement is equal to that of domestic cement.
Pakistani cement manufacturers dispatched 2.49Mt of cement in May 2015 compared to 2.3Mt in May 2014, up by 8%. Cement sales were 25.5Mt in the 11 months that ended on 31 May 2015, compared to 23.6Mt in the corresponding 2013 – 2014 period, depicting over 8% growth.
China: According to Reuters, cement producers participating in the carbon market in China's Hubei Province have told the local government that they cannot afford the millions of Chinese Yuan required to buy permits to cover mitigation obligations for 2014 and may default. Refusal to pay would test China's ability to force companies to comply with carbon targets and undermine efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, in which a planned national carbon market would have a central role.
The 138 companies covered by the Hubei exchange have to hand over carbon permits in June 2015 to settle their obligations for 2014. Around a quarter are cement firms, which have complained that they were not allocated enough credits. "They are in talks with the government to gain immunity from non-compliance penalties and are asking to borrow some permits from next year's quota," said an unnamed broker.
The companies are facing high environmental compliance costs at the worst possible time, as the economy slows and the construction sector struggles. Chinese cement production fell by 4.8% in the first four months of 2015.
Huaxin Cement, the biggest local producer, is 1.15 million permits short of meeting its mitigation targets, according to a document seen by Reuters. Carbon permits in Hubei are trading at US$4.43 so it could cost the company US$5.1m to cover its shortfall.
"Hubei is generally oversupplied, but the distribution is not balanced. Most of the power sector is over-allocated, but the cement and chemical sectors are short," said another unnamed broker. "Those facing a big gap are not attempting to buy from the market. They are pushing the government for a compromise." Penalties for non-compliance could include a deduction in permits for 2015 plus a fine of up to three times the value of the obligations in default, although that is capped at US$24,176.
India: According to the Economic Times, the waste from city kitchens will soon be recycled into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) at waste processing plants in Kalaburagi City, Karnataka. The RDF from the 10 upcoming waste processing plants in Kalaburagi will be given to cement companies for use as fuel and the biodegradable waste will be used as manure by farmers.
The joint initiative taken up by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development & Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) has had agreements with cement manufacturers such as ACC, Vicat Sagar and UltraTech in Kalaburagi.
"Plastic-like material is a good alternative for fossil fuel as it can replace up to 20% of fossil fuel in terms of energy," said KSPCB chairman Vaman Acharya. The pact is yet to be signed and talks between the stakeholders is in the final stages. Transport costs for the RDF are estimated to be less than US$0.016/kg.
The idea to use RDF instead of fossil fuel in Kalaburagi cement plants was first conceived by Hasiru Dala, a Bengaluru-based non profit organisation working on waste management. It has provided 100t of combustible waste to Zuari Cements' plant in Andhra Pradesh in the past two months. Nalini Shekar, founder of Hasiru Dala, said that the material was not sold to the cement plant for a price, but Zuari paid for packaging and transportation. Households have been asked to segregate waste and hand it to BBMP garbage collectors to make the process easier.