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Tajik-Chinese 1Mt/yr cement plant announced in Yovon 20 February 2013
Tajikistan: Tajik-Chinese joint venture Huaxin Gayur Cement is building a 1Mt/yr cement plant in the Yovon district of Khatlon province, according to the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI). The budget for the coal-powered plant is US$110m.
Elsewhere in Tajikistan a 50,000t/yr plant being built at Vahdat Township by Tajik-Chinese joint venture, Vahdat Hualun is nearing completion. It is expected to start operation during the first quarter 2013. A plant with a cement production capacity of 20,000t/yr in the northern city of Konibodom will start operation in the first half of 2013. Two cement plants funded by foreign investment in Danghara and Shahritous districts are also nearing completion. A 100,000t/yr plant in the Mastchoh district, Sughd province that opened in 2012 has plans to increase its capacity to 1Mt/yr.
According to data from the MoEI, eight cement plants with a capacity of 1.5Mt/yr currently operate in Tajikistan. The country's largest cement plant is OJSC Tojikcement (Dushanbe cement plant) with a capacity of 1.1Mt/yr. However it has not been in operation since the start of January 2013 due to a lack of natural gas.
Tajikistan's annual demand for cement has sharply increased in connection with construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP), highways and other facilities of the nationwide significance. Currently Pakistan is the main supplier of cement to Tajikistan.
Alexandria Cement continues production throughout hostage drama 20 February 2013
Egypt: Alexandria Cement continued producing cement during a recent hostage scenario. In a release to the Egyptian Stock Exchange the producer announced that on 14 February 2013 some subcontractors trapped a number of their management officials and Alexandria Cement's management, including the factory manager. The subcontractors were calling for permanent contracts.
Alexandria Cement informed the authorities. The hostages were freed on 17 February 2013. All of the accused workers were arrested. Throughout the situation Alexandria Cement continued to produce cement, although deliveries were halted during this period.
Madras Cements grows sales by 18% to US$162m in third quarter 20 February 2013
India: Madras Cements has reported increased net sales of 18% in the third quarter of its 2012-2013 financial year. The Indian cement producer made US$137m in the quarter ending 31 December 2011 which rose to US$162m in the same quarter in 2012.
'Sustained focus on containing costs' and improving efficiency were responsible for the positive results according to the CEO of Madras Cements, A.V. Dharmakrishnan. The growth in sales revenue came despite a sixteen day strike by dealers in Kerala which constitutes nearly 25% of the company's market.
Net profit for the quarter ending 31 December 2012 rose year-on-year by 9% to US$15.6m from US$14.2m. Revenue for the company's cement segment rose by 18% to US$159m from US$135m.
Also of note in the producer's results was that transportation and handling costs rose by 37% year-on-year in the quarter to US$33.3m due to higher railway freight charges and a diesel price hike.
New 0.8Mt/yr cement plant to be built in Cameroon 20 February 2013
Cameroon: The government of Cameroon and the German group GPower Cement has signed a partnership agreement to build a cement plant in the south-western town of Limbe. US$60.9m has been invested in the project with a target annual production capacity of 800,000t/yr. Construction of the plant will begin in June 2013 and is expected to produce its first cement bag by late 2015.
The initiative joins other projects underway such as those of Nigeria's Dangote Group (1Mt/yr) and Addoha from Morocco (500,000t/yr) in the commercial city of Douala. Cameroon's local producer and Lafarge's subsidiary Cimenteries du Cameroun (CIMENCAM), which has two factories in Douala and Figuil, has begun plant construction works on the outskirts of the capital, Yaoundé, to supply the Central, Southern and Eastern regions of the country.
Cameroon, which has been facing recurrent cement shortages for more than a decade, has opted for massive imports, with potential domestic demand being 8Mt/yr, while domestic production is currently estimated at just 1.6Mt/yr.
Polimeks commissions 1.4Mt/yr cement plant in Turkmenistan 20 February 2013
Turkmenistan: Turkish company Polimeks Insaat Taahhüt ve San. Tic. A.Ş. has commissioned a 1.4Mt/yr cement plant in the east of Turkmenistan, an official Turkmen source has said. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan and President Viktor Yanukovich of Ukraine flew by helicopter to the venue for the opening ceremony of the cement plant.
The plant in Garlyk in the Lebap region will produce Portland cement, oil well cement and sulphate-resistant cement. Raw materials will be taken from a nearby quarry and when operational the plant is expected to employ 800 people.
In October 2011, Polimeks launched a similar plant in the west of Turkmenistan, in the area of the city of Jebel in the Balkan region. Its cost is estimated at Euro180m.