EAST TIMOR: Posco E&C to build a new cement plant in East Timor

POSCO E&C Australia Pty Ltd., an Australian subsidiary of POSCO Engineering & Construction, said on December 3 that it won a US$350-million project to build a cement plant in East Timor. POSCO E&C Australia president Gong Young-pil met on November 29 his counterpart with BGC (Australia) Pty Ltd. Sam Buckeridge at Fraser Suites Perth and received a letter of acceptance from him.

The deal calls for building a Timor-Leste Cement plant 100-percent owned by BGC in Baucau, a city 120 kilometers east of Dili, the country's capital. POSCO E&C Australia will be responsible for the whole process from engineering to procurement and to construction. The length of the project will be 34 months.

East Timor, or Timor-Leste, is a country of 1.1 million population that has become independent from Indonesia in 2002. Its government has been actively pursuing infrastructure development. The cement plant construction project is by far the biggest project sought by the government.

POSCO E&C Australia was established in Perth in 2011 in the Australian state of Western Australia in order to move into the Australian construction market. Late last year, it won a 25-billion-won project to build a workers village at the Roy Hill iron ore mine, followed this year by a 230-billion-won order to build a hotel in Perth.

NIGERIA: Nigeria’s cement production surpasses South Africa

A report conducted by the financial advisory company Renaissance Capital (RenCap) has revealed that Nigeria is now the largest cement manufacturer in Sub-Saharan Africa and the third largest in the Middle and East Africa regions (behind Egypt and Saudi Arabia) due to an increase in production capacity in the country.

According to the report, the Nigerian cement industry capacity has reached 28 million tpa. South Africa is currently producing at a rate of 18.3 million tpa and the rest of the region combined has a capacity of 62 million tpa of cement. The introduction of the Backward Integration Policy (BIP) in the Nigerian cement sector has also seen the industry’s production almost double between 2005 and 2012. RenCap has predicted that Nigeria will continue its high production levels, peaking at around 50 million tpa in 2020.

The strong performance in Nigeria has also been mirrored in the share prices of cement companies such as Dangote Cement, Lafarge WAPCO, Ashaka and the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), which are returning at a higher rate than the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index.

David Nangle, leader of the RenCap research team, told local press that the cement market in Nigeria has changed considerably over the past few years due to rising demand, increased investment, economic growth and favourable government regulation. The company is reported to be optimistic about the sustainability of Nigerian cement demand and production in the long-term.

IRAN: CEMENT EXPORTS INCREASE 37 %

Iran exported 11.268 million tons of cement in the first seven months of the calendar current year which started March 21 and surpassed 44.56 million tons, the Industry, Mine, and Trade ministry reported on November 20.

The figure shows a 37 per cent increase compared to the same period of the previous year, the IRNA News Agency reported.

Abdolreza Sheykhan, an official with the Iran’s Cement Producers Association, said earlier this month that the sum of 1.11 million tons of cement and 437,382 tons of clinker were exported in the seventh calendar month (September 23 – October 22), which is over 150 per cent more than the same month of the previous year.

“Iran’s cement output in the first seven months of the calendar current year (started March 21) surpassed 44.56 million tons,” he said.

“The figure shows a two per cent increase compared to the same period of the previous year,” the IRNA News Agency quoted Sheykhan as saying.

“Some 43.401 million tons of clinker was also produced in the same period which is four per cent more than the previous year,” he said.

Sheykhan went on to note that Iran’s cement production in the seventh calendar month (September 23 – October 22) stood at 6.191 million tons.

The IRNA News Agency reported on June 23 that Iran currently exports cement to 24 countries including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Oman, India and China.

Seven countries out of the 24 accounted for 97 per cent of Iran’s total cement exports.

Iraq with 63 per cent, Azerbaijan with four per cent and Turkmenistan with seven per cent was the main importers of Iranian cement.

Iran’s cement and clinker exports stood at over 13.648 million tons in the previous calendar year which ended March 20.

The country exported over 11.85 million tons of cement and 1.79 million tons of clinker in that period.

Iran produced 75 million tons of cement in the previous year. The country’s cement production capacity stands at 80 million tons.

Iran with a total production of 65 million tons ranked as the world’s third
largest cement producer in 2012.

Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said in August 2012 that the country’s cement production capacity will reach 110 million tons by 2015.

The country plans to export over 18.5 million tons of cement in the current Iranian calendar year, Fatemian said.

PAKISTAN: Cement exports to Afghanistan in jeopardy

Cement exports have been on a rollercoaster ride. According to the latest cement dispatches released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturing Association (APCMA) the export volumes continued to face stiff competition from Iranian cement in Afghanistan and dwindling demand from India. 

And with countdown to US withdrawal from Afghanistan on a roll, the export scenario is becoming even jittery; the eventual departure of NATO troops from the Afghan territory is being seen as a significant event for the cement export situation in the country. 

Industry insiders and analysts are foreseeing two possible scenarios: one which is likely to dismantle exports sales from the country is where Afghanistan falls back to 1990 post civil war period. This early 2000 scenario encompasses no construction activity in the region, and thus little or no demand for cement as Afghanistan faces uncertainties. Capacity in Afghanistan itself is under a million ton; this could significantly reduce cement imports by the country. 

A more comfortable scenario, at least for Pakistan, would be if Afghan government initiates recovery programme along with the international support. And, though Iranian cement will continue to hamper the export from Pakistan, the increased development activity in Afghanistan will definitely serve as a key component in the total cement exports of Pakistan; mind you, exports to Afghanistan make up around 50 percent of the total cement exports on average. 

While placing a bet on one of the two scenarios is difficult, a cut in exports to Afghanistan would mainly affect the northern cement players in Pakistan not only in terms of dispatches to the neighbouring country but also because of fewer prospects in other key markets due to new surplus capacities in the same. 

On the other hand, sea exports are expected to bloom as long as demand in South Africa, Sri Lanka and some parts of Middle East continue to see growth. 

As far as the likelihood of the two scenarios is concerned, a wait and watch approach is what experts choose as they remain clueless which way the wind would blow.

BOLIVIA: BOLIVIA IMPORTA CEMENTO PERUANO

Insumos Bolivia (IB) decidió importar cemento del Perú ante el desabastecimiento del producto que se registra en el mercado interno nacional hace más de dos meses, reportó ayer la institución.

IB sostiene que la decisión es de aprovisionar al sector de la construcción con un producto de calidad y sin restricción en la venta, disponiendo de un stock de 80 mil bolsas, que permite afirmar que no se registrará ningún tipo de desabastecimiento.

La venta de cemento se realiza principalmente en La Paz, Santa Cruz y Cochabamba, con un producto que fue importado inicialmente para cubrir el déficit generado entre la demanda y la oferta, déficit que las empresas cementeras no pudieron atender en 2010.

Para evitar inconvenientes en la provisión del producto, Insumos Bolivia inició desde entonces la distribución de este insumo básico para el sector de la construcción, teniendo una capacidad de movilización de hasta 400.000 bolsas mes, moviendo 20 camiones por día, lo que representan 5.000 bolsas.

El cemento ofrecido por Insumos Bolivia es de la empresa Yura de Perú, del tipo Portland, adicionado con hasta un 30% de puzolana, fabricado bajo estándares internacionales de calidad, en sintonía con la norma ASTM 595 (NTP 334.009), que en el país es equivalente a la Norma 011.

Su uso se extiende a cualquier tipo de obra civil. Es necesario destacar que posee una moderada resistencia al ataque de sulfatos, bajo calor de hidratación, mayor impermeabilidad, ganancia mayor de resistencia al tiempo y mayor rendimiento en el trabajo de morteros y revestimientos. La elección del proveedor responde a dos criterios: el primero la calidad del producto y el segundo la cercanía de la planta, que permite tener el producto en El Alto en 24 a 48 horas.

Entre las empresas que se han beneficiado en este tiempo están Bolco, Granco, COP, Premoltec, Multimix y Gasnetworks SRL de Santa Cruz, CCD, Emaverde y constructora Loza Cancero de La Paz; y Ponce Rivero, Venecia y Mixsa de Cochabamba.

PRECIOS

La distribución es permanente en La Paz y Santa Cruz, departamentos que tienen una alta demanda del producto y se comercializa en bolsas de 42.5 kilogramos. En el primer caso, el precio es de Bs 44 y en el segundo de Bs 52, la diferencia está en el costo del transporte.

BENIN: Démarrage de l’opération d’ensachage à la Nouvelle cimenterie du Bénin: Boni Yayi signe le premier sac de ciment Nocibe

Le Président de la République a effectué dans la matinée de ce lundi 2 décembre 2013 un déplacement sur  le site de la Nouvelle cimenterie du Bénin (Nocibe). Cette sortie vise à prendre connaissance de l’évolution de cette industrie cimentière dont les populations attendent impatiemment les premières livraisons. Le président Boni Yayi a saisi l’occasion de cette visite pour signer le premier sac de ciment sous le label Nocibe, consacrant ainsi l’épilogue de cet important projet de son mandat.

Arrivé sur le site aux environs de 14h, le président Boni Yayi a eu droit à une visite guidée qui lui a permis de s’imprégner du circuit de production du ciment à la Nocibe. Cette visite guidée s’est achevée au pied de la machine d’ensachage avec la sortie du premier sac. Le chef de l’Etat, très soulagé de l’aboutissement de ce projet, ne s’est pas fait prier pour inscrire sur le premier sac de ciment Nocibe ses mots d’encouragement et de gratitude.

Le Directeur général adjoint de la société, Sylvain Kazalis, au nom du Pdg Laftallah Layousse absent et de tout le personnel, a tenu à exprimer ses sentiments de gratitude à l'endroit du chef de l’Etat pour ses sollicitudes constantes tout au long de la mise en place de l'infrastructure. Selon Sylvain Kazalis, Nocibe est un label qui portera loin l’étendard de la commune d’Adja-Ouèrè et du Bénin dans le concert des industries cimentières. D’un coût total avoisinant trois cent milliards de francs cfa, Cette industrie démarrera avec une production annuelle d'un million cinq cent mille tonnes qui pourront s’étendre au fur et à mesure. Elle permettra la création de centaines d’emplois directs et indirects et exercera un fort effet d’entraînement sur l’économie locale. A cet effet, Sylvain Kazalis a réitéré la détermination du Pdg Layousse et de tout son personnel à oeuvrer pour faire de la zone d’implantation de cette usine, un pôle industriel et économique majeur au Bénin et dans la sous région.

De son côté, le président Boni Yayi a loué la vision et le pragmatisme du Pdg de Nocibe qui, en mettant en place un investissement structurant d’une telle ampleur, a donné la preuve de son engagement à contribuer à la prospérité de l’économie béninoise dont le secteur cimentier reste un une composante majeure. Selon Boni Yayi, cet engagement de Nocibe épouse parfaitement sa vision de promouvoir une régionalisation de l’économie nationale par une exploitation optimale des potentialités de chaque département et commune du pays. Avec un million cinq cent mille tonnes de ciment au démarrage, le dimensionnement de Nocibe permet à terme de porter à trois millions cette capacité, ce qui garantit, non seulement l’autonomie du Bénin, mais aussi contribuera substantiellement à répondre aux besoins de la sous-région. Les impacts en termes d’emploi n’ont pas été occultés par le chef de l’Etat qui a saisi l’occasion pour rappeler les autres projets en discussion avec le groupe Layousse. Au nombre de ceux-ci, figure en bonne place le projet de construction au Bénin d’une centrale thermique de 200 à 300 Mw pour un montant de cent cinquante milliards francs cfa. Avec ces différents projets, le groupe Layousse se positionne au Bénin comme un investisseur de premier plan. Le chef de l’Etat a souhaité que ce partenariat se pérennise et se renforce pour le bonheur du peuple béninois.

COLOMBIA: AUMENTO DE PRODUCCIÓN DE CEMENTO EN COLOMBIA

Según el Dane, constructores, contratistas, concreteras y establecimientos comercializadores fueron los más dinámicos en materia de distribución.

En octubre pasado, la producción de cemento en el país sumó 1,4 millones de toneladas, que representaron un incremento de 18,4 por ciento frente al mismo mes del 2012, mientras que los despachos aumentaron 13,9 por ciento, con 1 millón 32 mil toneladas.

Por departamentos, Norte de Santander fue el que más demandó el material, con una variación 52,2 por ciento, seguido de Caldas (31,5 por ciento), Bolívar (27,3), Cundinamarca (27 por ciento) y Antioquia (17,7 por ciento); Bogotá –que incluye datos de Funza, Mosquera, Soacha y Chía- registró una variación de 4,8 por ciento. Por el contrario, Córdoba, Nariño y Casanare restaron 0,6 puntos porcentuales al total.

Analistas coinciden en el impacto positivo que ha tenido la construcción de nuevos proyectos de hotelería y oficinas, a la que le suman los avales del programa de viviendas ciento por ciento subsidiadas.

De hecho, en días pasados el Ministro de Vivienda, Luis Felipe Henao, destacó las cifras de licencias de construcción entregadas por el Dane que en lo corrido del año, a septiembre, dieron un parte positivo, con un pico alto de 18,9 por ciento producto, especialmente, de las aprobaciones para Vivienda de Interés Social (VIS) que crecieron 60,7 por ciento y donde, efectivamente, se está usando bastante cemento gris.

BIEN EN EL AÑO CORRIDO

La entidad estadística también evaluó lo sucedido durante el año corrido, hasta octubre, y la producción y los despachos aumentaron 1,9 y 2,7 por ciento, respectivamente. De nuevo, los constructores, los contratistas y las concreteras fueron los que más lo demandaron.

En este lapso, el departamento de Córdoba trazó la senda alcista con 23,2 por ciento, mientras que Bolívar registró un 16,9 por ciento; Atlántico 16,3 por ciento y Cundinamarca, 14,3. En contraste, Bogotá y los municipios que el Dane incluye para efectos del informe reportaron un -7,8 por ciento.

Los datos de la producción y los despachos del insumo también fueron positivos durante los últimos doce meses, hasta octubre pasado: la primera creció 1,7 por ciento con relación al año precedente y la segunda, 2 por ciento, gracias a los pedidos hechos, especialmente, en Cundinamarca. En Bogotá, sin embargo, cayeron 8,2 por ciento.

SOUTH AFRICA: Sephaku Cement grinding plant on-track to start production in 2014

Sephaku Cement said its new grinding plant near Delmas in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is 95 per cent complete and is on-track for production early in the new year.

The 1.4Mta facility will be launched ahead of the company’s 1.2Mta integrated Aganang plant in Lichtenburg, North West.

Recent cold commissioning milestones at the Delmas grinding plant have included the starting of the mill motor, ID fan and mill separator, Heinrich de Beer, engineering project manager at Sephaku Cement explains. “Clinker is offloading is in full swing and in the stage of final setting optimisation," he states.

Gypsum offloading has also been commissioned with the first gypsum off loaded mid November. In addition, the packing plant is about to be hot commissioned with cement while the palletizer and stretch hood machines have been cold and hot commissioned. “Our first stack of pallets have been wrapped and the full sequential start-up and commissioning of the packing plant is on the cards for the next week,” he says.
        
Roads and intersections are on target to being finished before the end of this month and weigh bridge systems are being implemented imminently, while Telkom is expected to finalise communication installation shortly, adds de Beer.

As a greenfield project, the initial construction of the turnkey project started in November 2011. “Everyone on site is looking forward to getting moving with their work. All buildings including the CCR, administration and sales offices are ready for occupancy,”  de Beer concludes.

GHANA: Influx of substandard cement affects Diamond Cement

Diamond Cement Ghana has helped to break the monopoly of GHACEM by supplying its products in the sub-region, especially Togo, Benin and Ghana.
It has also helped to stabilise prices of cement in the country.

The company has plans to build a port at Aflao to create employment for Aflao and neighbouring communities and its closure will seriously affect the local economy and beyond.

Ufortunately, the increasing influx of substandard and smuggled cement into the country is affecting the production capacity of Diamond Cement Ghana Limited (DCGL).

Currently, the importation of these cements has reduced the daily sales and production of diamond cement from 5,000 metric tonnes to 3,200 tonnes metric tonnes per day.

This means that the company now loses 1,800 metric tonnes of cement to other brands such as  SOL-Cement of China, cement imported from Kankan in Iran, and Dangote Cement from Nigeria and Ghana Cement Limited (GHACEM).

Also, the grinding mills which run seven days in a week is shut down after four days because of low demand.

The DCGL is perhaps the only large manufacturing firm in the Volta Region, after the Juapong Textile Limited, a grey-baft firm, reactivated under new ownership, but remaining below the bottom-line.

According to the Mechanical Manager of DCGL, Mr Abedkar Reddy, the reduction in sales was gradually affecting the workers because, “they come to work and there is no work to be done.”

“We might not be able to increase their salaries to meet the change in the economy because we are not getting the profit we need to operate,” he said

Mr Reddy said the company used to load 125 trucks of cement per day to be distributed to other parts of the country but has now been reduced to 75, saying, “the cement is being produced but the demand is not there and this is affecting productivity and management of the company.”

He alleged that the competing products could be enjoying some official support in terms of low taxes at the ports, making those products cheaper, a situation he said would be “grossly unfair” if it was established to be true.

The prices of cement

At Kaneshie Market in Accra GHACEM is sold at GH¢18, Diamond Cement goes for GH¢17 and the Dangote cement is GH¢15.

However, the traders said they had knowledge about other brands of cement in the market but were not selling them because Ghanaians were already used to GHACEM and Diamond cement.

In an interview with Mr Nyarko, a shopkeeper of the Kofi Asiamah Trading Enterprise at Kaneshie, said the patronage of the Diamond cement had gone down because people no longer bought it as compared with other brands.

He could not immediately say what the reason for the low patronage was but said, “It might be due to the current hard economic situation.”

Effect of the Influx of Cement on DCGL CSR

Since the inception of the company in the Aflao-Akporkploe community in the Ketu South Municipality, residents in one way or another had benefited from the numerous corporate social responsibilities (CSR) of the company.

By the end of November 2012, the company since its inception had spent a total of GH¢604,202 in providing services to the people in and around Aflao.

These services ranged from the provision of healthcare facilities, educational and recreational facilities, provision of water, construction of bungalows, road construction, and the provision of sponsorship to organisations within the community.

Mr Reddy said, “How can we continue to give back to the society when we are not making enough money to give out? We are losing a lot every day because someone somewhere is allowing them to operate and they are looking on blindly,” adding that the authorities concerned must act swiftly for the right thing to be done.

Also, he said with the reduction in sales and the dispatch of goods, investment in CSR activities had gone down and this was going to affect the people in the community.

“For example, we provide the people of Aflao with water every day and we are currently building a school in the community and the loss in revenue might affect the completion of these projects by way of completion time,” he added.

Construction of the railway 

Mr Reddy said the railway which was being constructed from Togo to Ghana by the company was to be inaugurated by December this year.

When the Daily Graphic visited the site, the workers were busily putting some finishing touches it.

The railway line, when completed, will help the company to convey clinker from Togo to the factory and carry cement back to Togo.

It would also provide easy transportation for workers.

Aside the railway line, Mr Reddy said the company was providing shelter for the customs and immigration officials who would be stationed at one of the entry point used by the border residents.

Background to DCGL

Diamond Cement (Ghana) Limited received its certificate of incorporation on  August 3, 1998 and commenced business in 2002 at Aflao in the Ketu South Municipality in the Volta Region

It has a subsidiary at Buipe in the Northern Region, Savannah Cement, producing both clinker and cement.

The company started with one grinding mill with an initial capacity of 600,000 metric tonnes per annum and gradually increased to 1,800,000 metric tonnes per annum with the addition of the second mill in 2009.

The DCGL is currently the only group that produces clinker in the country, hence giving value to local resources. Its plant also complements the government’s industrialisation programme and economic uplift.

Currently, the company is pursuing the latest technology of programmable logic control (PLC) system in the cement production process to maintain consistency in the quality.

It is also the only manufacturing company that has been rated “GREEN” (Very Good) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the AKOBEN rating for three consecutive years since 2010. 

ARGENTINA: Loma Negra le confirmó a Mayoral que harán la fábrica en San Juan

El gerente de la firma se reunió con el secretario de Minería de la Nación y confirmó que la obra está prevista dentro del cronograma de inversiones para 2014. Además se mostró confiado en que se mantendrá el creciente nivel de consumo de cemento en el país.

El gerente de la empresa Loma Negra se reunió con el secretario de Minería de la Nación, Jorge Mayoral y le confirmó que durante el 2014 construirán su nueva planta en la provincia de San Juan.

Osvaldo Schütz le confirmó a Mayoral que la empresa pretende implementar un programa de inversiones previsto para 2014 y la consecuente generación de empleos. Entre los objetivos de inversión más próximos, la firma prevé la construcción de una nueva planta de producción en la provincia de San Juan, con instalaciones de última generación.

Cabe destacara que Loma Negra es la principal empresa de cemento de Argentina, con una fuerte presencia en todas las regiones del país. Posee nueve plantas de producción, seis de las cuales están ubicadas en la provincia de Buenos Aires, mientras que las restantes se encuentran en las provincias de Neuquén, San Juan y Catamarca.

Si bien el empresario ratificó la inversión para San Juan, lo que aún queda por determinar es en dónde se hará la planta. La firma nunca lo confirmó oficialmente, pero en un primer momento se habló de hacer la planta en un terreno de 4.000 hectáreas que la empresa dispone para hacer extracción de materiales en el departamento Pocito.

Desde que empezaron a correr los rumores de la planta de Loma Negra en Pocito, un grupo de vecinos se opuso a la construcción porque el trajín de camiones y gente trabajando cortaría la paz de la zona en la que se construyen casas de fin de semana. Además, no faltaron quienes hablaron de una posible contaminación en un departamento que aún conserva un claro perfil agrícola rural.

Ante las quejas de la gente de Pocito, en su momento los intendentes de Sarmiento, Alberto Hensel, y de Rawson, Juan Carlos Gioja, ya manifestaron su intención de albergar la planta. La empresa no respondió a los convites.

Falta de cemento

Mientras que Loma Negra sigue adelante con sus planes de expansión, en buena parte del país y San Juan no es la excepción se viene haciendo cada vez más notoria la falta de cemento en un mercado que tiene a consumir cada vez más dado el aumento en la construcción.

ETHIOPIA: Al-Amoudi Plans Two Cement Plants in Ethiopia

Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi, the biggest private investor in Ethiopia, plans to build two more cement factories in the Horn of Africa nation amid an improving investment environment.

The plants will add to the $351 million facility al-Amoudi’s MIDROC Derba Cement opened in December 2011, the 67-year-old investor said in an interview today in the capital, Addis Ababa. Derba Group, an amalgam of three Ethiopian companies owned by al-Amoudi, plans to invest $3.4 billion in Ethiopia over the next 5 years, the company said in March 2012.

“Africa’s opportunity lies in involvement of private sector working with stable and responsible government like Ethiopia,” al-Amoudi said in a speech at the African High-Growth Markets Summit in Addis Ababa. Continuing improvements in the business climate will probably to lead to a “great” increase in investment, he said, without elaborating.

Ethiopian-born Al-Amoudi ranks as the world’s 134th richest person, with a net worth estimated at $8.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is the second-richest person in Saudi Arabia, after Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Ethiopia’s economy is projected to expand 7.5 percent next year, compared with an estimated 7 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said in its World Economic Outlook in October.

Three farming companies owned by al-Amoudi developed 6,200 hectares (15,321 acres) of land in Ethiopia, al-Amoudi said. Elfora Agro-Industries, Horizon Plantations Ethiopia and Saudi Star Agricultural Development will have prepared an additional 160,000 hectares in the next 2 1/2 to 3 years.

“We are focusing on agriculture and industry,” he said.

VIETNAM: Vicem sold 1.77Mt of cement and clinker in October 2013

State-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) has sold 1.77Mt of cement and clinker in October 2013, a year-on-year increase of 5%.

1.47Mt of cement and clinker was sold in the domestic market, a year-on-year reduction of 8.3%, while 0.31Mt was exported, a 243.8% increase when compared with October 2012.

The Vietnamese company produced 1.34Mt of clinker and 1.32Mt of cement in October 2013, down by 5.9% and 7.1% respectively compared with October 2012.

During the first 10 months of 2013 Vicem's cement and clinker sales reached 17.7Mt, a 9.2% increase on the same period of 2012. 15.8Mt was sold in the domestic market and 1.8Mt was exported, representing increases of 4.8% and 74.2% compared with the same period in 2012. During the first 10 months of 2013, Vicem's cement output rose by 9.3% year-on-year to 12.39Mt.

Vicem projects that its cement and clinker sales will reach 1.91Mt in November 2013, and aims to produce 1.39Mt of clinker and 1.63Mt of cement in the same period.