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Buzzi Unicem sells cement plant to Wietersdorfer unit for Euro22m 19 February 2014
Italy: Buzzi Unicem has agreed to sell its 0.3Mt/yr cement plant in Cadola, Italy, to a subsidiary of Wietersdorfer for Euro22m. Under the terms of the agreement, Austria's Wietersdorfer will be also entitled to buy, within five years and without additional payment, Buzzi Unicem's Travesio 0.4Mt/yr cement plant.
Italian cement producer Buzzi Unicem has also agreed to buy 25% in two Wietersdorfer facilities. In particular, the company will acquire shares in W&P Cementi and Salonit Anhovo Gradbeni Materiali for Euro22m. W&P Cementi currently has a grinding plant in Pordenone, Italy with a production capacity of 0.3Mt/yr. Salonit owns an integrated cement plantin Slovenia with a production capacity of 1.3Mt/yr.
With these transactions, Buzzi Unicem expects to strengthen its production and sales structure by improving its procurement logistics, it said adding that the deals will result in technological integration between the two companies aiming to develop new products. The transactions are expected to close on 30 June 2014.
Dangote to commission cement plant in July 2014 19 February 2014
Zambia: Dangote Cement plans to commission a US$400m cement plant in the city of Ndola in July 2014 with a production capacity of 3000t/day.
The company expects to produce 1.0 - 1.2Mt/yr of cement when it is commissioned, which will increase Zambia's total cement production to 2.5 - 2.7Mt/yr. Zambia currently has a cement production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr from Lafarge's plants in Lusaka and Ndola and Zambezi Portland's plant in Ndola.
Senior general manager for Dangote Projects, Anand Kameshwar said that installation of major equipment at the plant by China's Sinoma Engineering was nearly complete. "Most of the major equipment has been installed and the project is on course and should be complete by July 2014," Kameshwar said, adding that Dangote would contribute significantly in mitigating cement shortages that have resulted from high cement demand due to construction activities. Once operational, the cement factory will create 700 new jobs.
Dangote is also constructing a 30MW power sub-station that is expected to commission in May 2014. "This facility will provide electricity to the cement plant, which is expected to consume 25MW of power per day," Kameshwar said. The cement factory will also open up other avenues for Dangote to increase its investments in Zambia.
Geometrica supplies Carthage Cement with bulk storage structures 19 February 2014
Tunisia: Geometrica has released details of bulk-storage structures built for Carthage Cement at its Djebel Ressas cement plant in 2013. The dome and space frame structure builder supplied three storage buildings for additives, coal and limestone. The additives and coal longitudinal buildings are 200m and 300m long respectively with a span of 50m. The limestone building is a 90m circular dome.
Carthage Cement contracted FLSmidth to supply machinery and engineering at the 5800t/day cement plant. Turkish contractor, EKON, was FLSmidth's partner for the civil works, including civil design, supply of structural steel and plate work, site preparation, plant erection. Construction at the plant started in late 2010 and was completed in 2013.
17 more cement plants bite the dust in Hebei 18 February 2014
China: The demolition of 17 more cement plants in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, began on 17 February 2014, two months after the first batch of demolitions to improve air quality.
"After the second batch of demolitions is finished in March 2014, we can meet the target of reducing excess capacity three years ahead of schedule, reducing production capacity by 40%," said Wang Liang, the mayor of Shijiazhuang. Hebei was hit by many smoggy days in February 2014, causing serious pollution. On 17 February 2014 the air quality index exceeded 200, classed as 'very unhealthy' by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The demolition of 18 cement grinders and 377 storage bins at the 17 plants will be completed by the end of March 2014, reducing production capacity by 9.1Mt/yr.
To control pollution, the provincial government has announced goals for cutting excess capacity in high-polluting industries, including cement production, in every city. Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital, must dismantle 15Mt/yr of cement production capacity by 2017.
The two batches of demolitions have targeted 35 plants, resulting in direct economic losses of US$180m and affecting 3780 workers. "We may suffer slow economic growth in the short term, but this will work in upgrading the economic structure and will result in a good living environment for our people, so it is worthwhile," said Sun Ruibin, Party chief of Shijiazhuang.
Wang Jiangtao, marketing manager at Yuancheng Construction Material Co, one of plants being demolished in the city of Luquan, said, "We will follow the government project and want to control air pollution as well so we agreed to close the plant. But it's still sad to see the plants being demolished," he said, adding that the company had invested more than US$4.94m in a new system in 2011. "We have not made enough money to cover the expenses up to now." Under government compensation plans, the plant may get US$1.65m and will receive other support for its future business, including preferential policies and tax relief, Wang added.
Two of Jinyu Dingxing Cement Co's plants were among the first batch of demolitions in December 2013, but so far new projects have not been decided on, said Feng Jinmin, a manager at one of the two plants that were closed. "Of the US$2.47m in compensation expected from the government, we have received half and are still awaiting government guidance on our future business," he said, adding that this may take years.
Vietnam central province to revoke license of US$47m cement plant 18 February 2014
Vietnam: Authorities in Vietnam's central province of Quang Tri have decided to withdraw the investment license of a US$47m cement plant due to its sluggish implementation without legitimate reasons.
The plant, named Roli-Quang Tri, is located in Cam Tuyen commune, Cam Lo district and is the largest project in the province. Construction of the plant, which has a planned cement production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr, commenced in June 2009. Construction was subsequently delayed as the company is unable to continue the project, said Nguyen Duc Cuong, chairman of People's Committee of Quang Tri province.
Prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung earlier approved a proposal by the Vietnam Building Material Association to cancel nine cement projects with a total capacity of 2500t/day in order to keep in line with market demand. The prime minister also agreed to extend the deadline for the construction of seven other projects, including He Duong II, My Duc, Thanh Son, Tan Thang, Do Luong, Tan Phu Xuan and Nam Dong, until after 2015.
Currently, local cement makers have faced many difficulties due to having a huge inventory and low domestic demand, caused by the frozen real estate market. In addition, high production costs, high lending interest rates and rising input costs have also put heavy burden on local cement producers.
Vietnam's cement sales are predicted to rise by 1.5% to 3% year-on-year to between 62Mt and 63Mt in 2014, including 48.5Mt to 49Mt of domestic sales and 13.5Mt to 14Mt of exports.