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Thatta Cement suspends project in Sri Lanka 18 March 2014
Sri Lanka: Work on Thatta Cement's cement grinding, storing and bagging plant in Sri Lanka has come to a screeching halt.
The company informed investors on 14 March 2014 that the project was 'temporarily suspended' as the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) had not executed the Land Lease Agreement (LLA), despite the fact that basic engineering of the project had been completed by Thatta Cement Company (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of Thatta Cement Company.
The CFO and company secretary of Thatta Cement, Muhammad Taha Hamdani, complained that the SLPA had also signed an agreement with another business venture of car trans-shipment in close vicinity to the proposed cement project, "Without anticipating the expected operational conflict, which now appears to hinder setting up the proposed cement project within the layout originally planned by the SLPA."
The company official stated that further progress on the project would recommence as soon as the LLA is signed with the SLPA.
Malaysia: Cement Industries of Malaysia Bhd (CIMA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEM Group Bhd, is set to be the first cement manufacturer in the country to use tyres and biomass waste as an alternative source of fuel.
CIMA managing director Mohd Yusri Md Yusof said that the company has installed an alternative fuel combustion system from Japan's Taiheiyo Engineering Corporation, which will allow the company to use tyres and biomass waste such as palm kernel shell and empty fruit bunch (EFB) as an alternative source of fuel.
"The move makes CIMA the first cement manufacturer in the country with this technology," said Yusof. He added that using waste as alternative fuel for cement production ensures that waste materials are reused in a responsible manner instead of being disposed of in landfills.
"With this state-of-the-art technology in place, we can reduce energy costs through the utilisation of tyres and biomass up to a maximum of 30%, while at the same time playing an active role in reducing our carbon footprint," said Yusof.
Meanwhile, Plantation Industries and Commodities minister, Douglas Uggah Embas, said that the Malaysian government has identified biomass as one of the growth areas towards creating wealth from waste. "The National Biomass Strategy 2020 outlines the framework and the potential of the biomass in creating higher value-added economic activities. The National Biomass strategy envisages a potential contribution of Gross National Income of US$9.16bn by 2020," said Embas.
Cementir plans to increase white cement business 17 March 2014
Worldwide: Cementir Holding plans to close a deal within 12 months that could enhance its position in the white cement industry, according to Reuters.
Francesco Caltagirone, CEO of Cementir, said that the company is looking at potential sector acquisitions in the US, sub-Saharan Africa and the Far East. Cementir also plans to boost its waste management operations in Europe, beyond the markets in Turkey and the north of England where it is currently focused.
Europe: A European court has rejected an appeal by members of an alleged cement cartel, including Holcim Deutschland, HeidelbergCement, Schwenk Zement, Holcim, Buzzi Unicem, Italmobiliare, Portland Valderrivas and various subsidiaries of Cemex. The companies have argued that the European Commission (EC) had exceeded its powers when it opened an investigation in 2008.
The cement manufacturers brought seven appeals forward, arguing that the EC had not given a sufficient explanation for the suspected infringements before pushing them to respond to a long series of questions in too short a time limit. The judges considered that the EC had judicially provided the required 'minimum degree of clarity.'
On the other hand, the court partially agreed with Schwenk Zement. It judged that the time limit of two weeks that the companies were given to identify all of their contacts, including informal ones, was inadequate.
Unicem begins construction of second cement line 17 March 2014
Nigeria: The United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (Unicem) is investing US$510m in an additional 2.5Mt/yr state-of-the-art cement line to double its existing capacity to 5Mt/yr by 2016.
Sinoma Group is constructing the 2.5Mt/yr new cement line. The project includes the construction of a new 45MW captive power plant by Wärtsilä Nigeria Limited. Work on the project has already started.
Managing director of Unicem, Olivier Leonir, said that cement demand had continued to grow nationally and regionally, especially within the south and south-east regions, with demand currently growing at about 12%/yr.
Leonir said that the project has a lot of economic and social benefits to the people of Cross River state and its neighbouring communities, adding that, "Unicem has a strong commitment to develop local capacity through various initiatives such as the Unicem Community Development Initiative (UCID) and the Graduate Trainee Scheme. We have been enlisting and training young people from the community as mechanical technicians and training young graduate engineers to fill the local manpower gap."
Leonir said that Unicem is also building a US$30.4m 20km cement road infrastructure to cater for the expected traffic increase and to reduce the movement of articulated vehicles within Calabar when the project is completed.