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Tamil Nadu government announces 'Amma Cement Scheme' 26 September 2014
India: The Tamil Nadu government has announced the 'Amma Cement Scheme,' under which it will procure cement from private manufacturers with the intention of re-selling at a set price in the event of a possible future price increase.
J Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu's chief minister, said that she had recently discussed the situation regarding production of cement from the state and supply from outside with officials. Tamil Nadu consumes 1.7 – 1.8Mt/month of cement. Some 400,000 – 450,000t is supplied by Andhra Pradesh, where prices have recently risen substantially. As such, Tamil Nadu has reduced its purchases from Andhra Pradesh to 150,000 – 300,000t/month. However, Tamil Nadu's cement producers have risen their own prices as demand grows.
The Amma Cement Scheme was created in response. The Tamil Nadu government will purchase 200,000t/month of cement from private manufacturers and re-sell it through local distributors. Beneficiaries are eligible for a maximum of 750 bags and the cement could be bought by submitting a government-approved building plan or aroad plan. Those who want to buy cement for repair and renovation are eligible for 10 - 100 bags. Tamil Nadu Cement Corporation will be the nodal agency and the scheme will be implemented by Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation and Rural Development Department.
Sagar Cements announces acquisition of BMM Cements 25 September 2014
India: The board of directors of Sagar Cements Ltd (SCL) has approved the company's move to acquire a 100% stake in BMM Cements Ltd, which owns a 1Mt/yr capacity cement plant and other assets in Andhra Pradesh. The proposed acquisition will take SCL group's total cement capacity to 3.75Mt/yr from the existing capacity of 2.75Mt/yr.
BMM has an enterprise value of US$88.4m, 155Mt of limestone reserves and a 25MW captive power plant. The deal size is currently unknown, although SCL will take over BMM's debt.
"The proposed acquisition of BMM Cements comes at an opportune time wherein the demand environment and pricing in our region of operations looks encouraging," said Srikanth Reddy, executive director of SCL. "The two companies are wholly complementary geographically, with considerable potential for synergies."
The India Cements to demerge Chennai Super Kings into a separate company 25 September 2014
India: The India Cements Ltd (ICL) has decided to hive off Chennai Super Kings (CSK), a cricket team owned by it and run as a division of the company, into a wholly-owned subsidiary. Chennai Super Kings is a BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and IPL (Indian Premier League) Franchise Twenty20 Cricket Tournament Team.
"We propose to de-merge CSK division into a wholly-owned subsidiary of our company,'' said ICL. The de-merger proposal will be taken up for the consideration of the board at its ensuing meeting. CSK has given ICL a new brand image and a pan-India corporate identity.
The iconic stature of M S Dhoni, the skipper of CSK, has helped the company in its forays into news markets such as Rajasthan and Gujarat. Thanks to CSK, ICL has become a household name in India.
The SON begins full implementation of cement standardisation policy 25 September 2014
Nigeria: The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has begun to implement the cement standardisation and reclassification scheme with a zonal stakeholders' forum on blocks and allied products in the south west. The SON has also received directives from the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment to immediately commence the full enforcement of the policy across all segments of the cement and allied products sector.
The federal government's regulator of quality and standards began with the official unveiling of the new packaging and labelling model for the three different classes of cement in the nation's market, with clear labelling and colour coding to help stakeholders easily distinguish between 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5 grade cements in order to prevent misuse.
The minister of States for Industry, Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortom, expressed delight over the move by SON to firm up the regulations for building materials in the country. Ortom endorsed the decision to contrive the new cement packaging and labelling in line with the recently-approved Nigerian Industrial Standard for Cement, stressing that these steps would go a long way to enhance the building and construction industries.
"One key focus of standardisation all over the world is continual improvement aimed at customer satisfaction. This is only attainable through the diligent implementation of specifications for products and services as prescribed in the relevant approved standards," said Ortom. "Standards in themselves are dynamic in that they undergo reviews as necessary, towards ensuring continual improvement in products quality."
Lafarge to open 4000t cement silo in the Seychelles 24 September 2014
Seychelles: Lafarge is constructing a 4000t cement silo in the Seychelles in partnership with the Sri Lankan engineering company Dynamic Technologies. The silo will be built in Sri Lanka and shipped to the Seychelles. Lafarge and Dynamic Technologies developed a similar facility in Mayotte, an overseas department of France, earlier in 2014.