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Thach My cement plant starts operation in Vietnam 26 March 2014
Vietnam: The Thach My cement plant in Quang Nam province has started operation after a period of delay, according to a statement by Xuan Thanh Investment and Development JSC. The plant had an investment of US$190m with a designed cement production capacity of 1.7Mt/yr in its first phase. It covers an area of 57.36 hectares.
The plant was identified as a key project in the province when construction started in July of 2010. Construction was later delayed due to a shortage of building materials. The plant will create jobs for 1000 labourers, with 800 of these from the local area.
Nigeria: The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has led a group of cement industry stakeholders is stating that poor construction practices and not the quality of cement is to blame for the growing incidence of building collapse in the country. The position was taken at a recent meeting in Lagos by the technical committee of stakeholders and put together by SON to review the cement standardisation in the country.
Speaking at a press briefing Lanre Opakunle, general manager of Industrial Performance at Lafarge WAPCO, said that the committee unanimously agreed that cement is not responsible for building collapse. According to the committee, factors like poor or low quality application at building construction sites, poor construction practices, poor supervision as well as corruption are mainly responsible for building collapses.
The meeting stressed the need for cement manufacturers to review their standards to align with the European standards. Cement producers were advised to indicate the usage and application of the cement types on their bags in a legible and clear manner.
Zimbabwe: Wang Yong, the managing director of the Sino-Zimbabwe Cement Company, has reported that the joint-venture is on track to complete a US$5m upgrade to the Gweru cement plant in the Midlands province. Once the work is completed the plant's clinker production capacity is expected to double to at least 0.2Mt/yr.
"We are now halfway through the upgrade... We have installed a modern bag filter system to cut emissions. No more thick dust or smoke from the chimney now," said Wang to the Chinese news agency Xinhua. He added that around US$1m was spent on improving pollution control and the rest is being used to refurbish cement mills, rotary kilns, build a cement warehouse and install new packaging lines. The Sino-Zimbabwe Cement Company wants to attract larger investment from China to fund further facility upgrade and expansion. Cement producers in Zimbabwe are set to benefit from increased infrastructure developments if the government's five-year economic plan is fully implemented.
The plant is a joint venture between the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe and China Building Material Industrial Corporation for Foreign Econo-Technical Cooperation with an initial investment of US$54m. The plant employs more than 400 workers, with 95% from Zimbabwe.
India: Dalmia Cement Bharat Ltd's (DCBL) cement production capacity will reach 20Mt/yr following its acquisition of Jaiprakash (JP) Associates' 74% stake in a joint venture with the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) for US$190m.
The board of DCBL has approved the acquisition of a 74% stake in Bokaro Jaypee Cement Ltd (BOJCL), which is a 74:26 joint venture between JP Associates and SAIL.
"With this acquisition, DCBL's current installed capacity (including subsidiaries and associates) will reach 20Mt/yr," said a DCBL spokesperson.
BOJCL has a 2.1Mt/yr cement unit at Bokaro in Jharkhand. The joint venture has a 30 year clinker supply arrangement with JP Associates and a slag supply arrangement for the same period with SAIL.
"The transaction was completed in a record time with excellent chemistry and cooperation between the professional teams of JP Associates and DCBL," said Mahendra Singhi, Group CEO of Cement, DCBL. "The total enterprise value is US$190m. The proposed acquisition would be funded through a mix of debt and internal accruals."
DCBL also holds a 47.3% stake in OCL India and is expanding capacity there. The company is also setting up a 2.5Mt/yt cement plant at Belgaum in Karnataka with an investment of US$222m.
Colombia: Jose Alberto Velez, president of Cementos Argos group, says that 2014 will be a year of integrating the assets acquired in 2013 in Honduras and the United States for the Colombian firm. Further acquisitions would only be considered as of 2015. He stressed that the US$720m purchase of Vulcan Materials needs time to be digested, as well cement assets in Honduras costing above US$250m.
Velez has forecast a growing cement demand in 2014 that Cementos Argos will strive to meet in the US, Central America and the Caribbean, while in Colombia new infrastructure concessions will also increase cement and concrete sales.
During 2013, Cementos Argos had sales of 11.4Mt of cement, up by 5% on 2012. Income grew by 13.4% to US$376m and profits reached US$13.9m. Cementos Argos is also earmarking investments of US$200m in 2014 for various projects, including the start up of a US$35m cement distribution centre in Cartagena, in addition to the expansion and modernisation of several plants in Rio Claro, El Cairo and Nare costing US$100m.