TRINIDAD: TCL set to enter oil well cement market

Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL), which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, is preparing to break into the global oil well cement market. Chairman Satnarine Bachew told reporters the company has plans for expansion of its markets and aiming at the oil well cement market. Oil well cement is used in the oil and gas industry to case oil wells and keep them in place. Bachew said TCL has been selling oil well cement on the local market for years and has now decided to offer the product on the international market.

“Halliburton has been our main customer up to now and they have tested our product from depths of up to 18,000 feet without any issues. We are very confident that we can break through on the external market,” Bachew said when he spoke with reporters after an interfaith service to celebrate TCL’s 60th anniversary at its Claxton Bay headquarters 

Bachew explained that oil well cement is manufactured under special conditions but TCL does not need to purchase any special equipment to produce oit since it has been manufacturing the product for the last 15 years. “It is about proper promoting of our product and lobbying at the correct places and getting involved in the process. We already know how to manufacture the product, we have the expertise, we have been tried and tested by Halliburton and we think we are ready to move on to the global stage,” he said.

Bachew said TCL also plans to increase its presence in Central America “where the real strong markets are right now”. “We are already in those countries and the intention is to continue to grow and expand in those countries and may be acquire a new cement plant, who knows. That is our thrust,” he explained. 

Labour Minister Errol McLeod, who delivered the feature address at the interfaith service, recounted his interactions with TCL’s management when he was president general of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU). He said he shared a “special friendship” with former chairmen of the company. McLeod urged TCL’s employees and management to work together with a common purpose. He said the company has endured many challenges over the years, including a brutal 92 day strike in 2012, and now it is time for healing.

“Emulate love and respect, restraint and forgiveness and you know what I am talking about. Let it be about community and purpose. I recommend these very commanding principles which will take you beyond the four score,”he said. Representatives of the Islamic, Hindu and Christian faiths offered prayers and blessings for TCL’s continued success and urged employees and management to work together.

Bachew said following the 2012 strike, TCL embarked on a series of healing programmes addressing health, happiness and harmony. “There have been several interventions. We have made some progress. We are not where we would like to be as yet and as you know quite a bit of trade disputes are coming up in the Industrial Court.” He said he believes that once those disputes are out of the way, there will be “a better path for us to really get down into healing process”. 

“We have improved the productivity. It is better. It is back to where it was pre-strike last year,” said Bachew. who described 2013 as one of TCL’s better years.

ARGENTINA: Abuso de Hiper

En coincidencia con el titular de la ANSeS, Diego Bossio, el gobernador Martín Buzzi apuntó contra el diputado nacional y dueño de Hipertehuelche, Eduardo Costa, por el aumento del precio de la bolsa de cemento. 

“Bossio señaló muy acertadamente que una cadena de corralones de la zona, que todos conocemos y que es propiedad de un diputado de la oposición, está aplicando unos márgenes desmedidos”, dijo Buzzi. “Tendría que estar pensando en el bienestar de todos y no en sacar ventaja y especular buscando mayores beneficios”, señaló.

“Es inconcebible que en las cadenas dedicadas a la venta de cemento y hierros se remarque entre un 80 y un 100 por ciento”, enfatizó Buzzi. “No se puede decir que esto se relaciona con el valor del dólar porque estamos hablando de materiales que se fabrican en el país, con costos absolutamente locales”, explicó.

“En un momento en el que desde el Estado queremos darle mayor dinamismo a la economía y generar empleo con un plan muy agresivo de obras públicas, aparecen este tipo de maniobras”, apuntó el mandatario chubutense. “Conductas como esta lo único que hacen es atentar contra el trabajo de nuestra gente y el derecho a contar con viviendas, servicios e infraestructura para nuestras comunidades”, indicó.

“Esto es un agujero negro que se come los ahorros de todos y por eso vamos a profundizar los controles y buscar que los precios se sitúen en lugares lógicos. Hay que combatir a quienes se aprovechan de posiciones dominantes en el mercado para vender las cosas a lo que se les ocurre y señalar de manera muy clara a quienes se ponen en contra de los intereses del conjunto”, remarcó.

En este sentido consideró alentador el acuerdo de precios al que se arribó para una serie de insumos de la construcción y que beneficiará a los adjudicatarios de créditos del programa nacional PROCREAR. “Es una buena medida que marca una línea de acción a seguir y extender”, concluyó Buzzi.

BOLSA A $97,50

Por su parte el diputado de la UCR, Eduardo Costa, confirmó que la cadena Hipertehuelche que él dirige subió el precio de la bolsa de cemento. “Es cierto que el cemento vale $97,50 y es cierto que vale $51 en la cementera, pero $51 más IVA. Eso ya son $62, más $19 que cuesta el traslado ya estamos en $81”, se justificó.

En diálogo con INFOnews, Costa indicó que el problema central es la inflación y manifestó que detrás de la acusación contra su empresa hay una intencionalidad política. “El problema es que hay inflación que afecta a la gente y el gobierno es responsable”, se defendió el polémico dueño de Hipertehuelche que quedó expuesto en estos días por sus maniobras especulativas.

“Buscan generar la idea de que los responsables son los supermercados”, agregó. Si bien reconoció que los precios “no deberían aumentar lo mismo que la devaluación”, Costa consideró que “el problema central (de los aumentos de precios) es la falta de confianza, los empresarios no invierten”.

También negó haber rechazado sumarse a la extensión del programa Precios Cuidados que el gobierno pretende aplicar a los materiales de la construcción. “Nunca nos invitaron a firmar el acuerdo de precios, pero no tenemos ningún problema en firmarlo y contribuir, poniendo todos los papeles sobre la mesa”, aseguró.

PERÚ: La Construcción solo creció 2.24% en noviembre del 2013 por menor consumo interno de cemento

La construcción en el Perú tuvo un nuevo frenazo en noviembre del 2013 ya que creció solo 2.24%, convirtiéndose en la segunda cifra más baja del año en ese sector, según datos de Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI).

El informe de producción nacional del INEI, destaca que el resultado de noviembre estuvo influenciado por el consumo interno de cemento que creció solo 1,14%, además de la inversión en el avance físico de obras que creció en 21,63%.

El consumo interno de cemento, fue impulsado por la mayor inversión en infraestructura vial, obras en empresas mineras, de reasentamiento de comunidades mineras, de modernización y ampliación de almacenes, obras en centros empresariales, de infraestructura aeroportuaria así como por la construcción de edificios y condominios para vivienda.

El crecimiento del avance físico de obras se debe a la mayor inversión en las obras de rehabilitación y mejoramiento de la carreteras en diversas partes del país. También continuaron las obras de la red vial departamental y local, así como mejoramiento de caminos vecinales.

La cifra de construcción de noviembre fue la segunda más baja del año, luego que en setiembre esta actividad tuviera una caída de 1.34%, situación que no se observaba desde noviembre del 2011.

PARAGUAY: Denuncian maquillaje contable en la INC

Los antecedentes señalan que este tipo de disputas interna se repiten con cada cambio de autoridades de la cementera estatal, que solo conoce de pérdidas, rapiñas y abandono, producto de malas administraciones y presuntos hechos de corrupción.

Méndez había dicho a ÚH que desde su asunción alcanzaron números positivos, pese al estado calamitoso en que encontraron la empresa.

Esto causó la inmediata reacción de referentes sindicales, quienes rechazaron la versión. Es lo que aseguraron categóricamente los sindicalistas de la INC, Ricardo Ydoyaga y Pedro Yegros, en visita a la redacción.

Yegros recordó que el pasado 27 de enero habían presentado una denuncia de diez puntos a la Vicepresidencia de la República. “Denunciamos la existencia de licitaciones amañadas con el fueloil, nombramientos ilegales y la falta de gerenciamiento de la actual administración, además de la falta de reactivación del proyecto para producir más clínker y el cambio del sistema de combustión”, subrayó.

Añadió que otro punto que cuestionan a Méndez es su iniciativa para importar cemento. “No se puede admitir que una empresa como INC, que tiene capacidad de producir sesenta mil bolsas por día, tenga que traer cemento de otros lugares. Lo único que necesita es conseguir insumos y fueloil para eso. Al no producir pierde 450 mil dólares diarios”, enfatizó.

Refirió que en este tema también advirtieron una maniobra para dejar fuera del mercado a la INC en la venta de cemento compuesto, teniendo en cuenta que redujo su producción.

Los sindicalistas indicaron que la INC no produce las 45 o 50 mil bolsas diarias de cemento, sino apenas treinta mil (mostraron una de las últimas planillas que señala esta situación).

UTILIDAD. Yegros también salió al paso de la utilidad de cuatro mil millones de guaraníes declarada por Méndez recientemente. “Eso es totalmente ficticio y se trata solo de una manipulación de asientos contables y revalúo de activos”, sentenció.

En cuanto al fueloil, dijo que hay dudas sobre el proceso de licitación para adjudicar la provisión de 56 mil metros cúbicos del combustible, en el sentido de que ya estaría dirigido para una de las oferentes.

Recordó, igualmente, que los 2,5 millones de dólares que había dicho Méndez que se ahorró con la compra de fueloil a la firma Serviplus, se logró debido a que un decreto del Ejecutivo redujo el impuesto selectivo al consumo del diez al dos por ciento.

Idoyaga apuntó que “la gestión del ingeniero Méndez solo generó atrasos antes que avances, debido a que tiene un pésimo gerenciamiento, además lo que dice por los periódicos es una mentira y se puede constatar el estado de abandono en que están las plantas de producción”.

JAMAICA: Government Pays US$1.6M to Carib Cement for Clinker

The Government has handed over a cheque valued at US$1.69 million to Carib Cement Company Limited as part payment for the provision of clinker to Venezuela, facilitated under the Trade Compensation Mechanism of the PetroCaribe Agreement.

The initiative, which commenced in December last year, and is expected to last until May, will see Jamaica supplying Venezuela with some 100,000 tonnes of clinker, valued at approximately US$8.5 million, for the latter’s utilization in the production of cement.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, handed over the cheque to Chairman, Carib Cement Company Limited, Brian Young, during a ceremony at his Heroes Circle offices on Tuesday morning, January 21.

The arrangement facilitates the government’s repayment of a portion of its oil debt to Venezuela, which currently stands at approximately US$2.5 billion, with locally produced goods and services in lieu of cash, under the PetroCaribe Agreement.

Dr. Phillips said the arrangement was quite significant, as it represents the first time the Government has utilised the provision under the PetroCaribe Agreement for payment to be made by way of supplying commodities to Venezuela, thereby reducing the country’s debt obligations.

He said the agreement was indeed a “win-win” situation for everyone involved.

“Venezuela has benefited from the supply of materials that they need, while Jamaica and Carib Cement have benefited tremendously, by pioneering an additional market for their product, which employs Jamaican workers in producing it and helps expand overall production in the country. And for the PetroCaribe Fund, we are able to reduce our level of debt, and at the same time, facilitate productive activity in Jamaica,” he stated.

The Finance Minister also urged other Jamaican companies to pay close attention to the arrangement, noting that it provides an opportunity for them to identify markets on a sustained basis.

“The PetroCaribe Fund represents a long-term obligation for Jamaica. We repay in excess of US$100 million each year, under the agreement. It’s possible, therefore, for companies who can identify Venezuela, and importers, who can engage in the appropriate arrangements, to supply those commodities from Jamaica.

They’ll be able to expand their own productive activity here in Jamaica, pioneer the development of long-term export arrangements, and assist Jamaica in repaying, in kind, the obligations, which we have under the PetroCaribe Agreement,” Dr. Phillips remarked.

For his part, Mr. Young said the receipt of the cheque represented a third significant milestone under the joint initiative.

The first two, he said, were the securing of the contract and the departure of the first shipment of clinker to Venezuela.

“The fourth milestone that I have on the horizon is that when we have completed the supply of the 100,000 tonnes of clinker, which should take place over the next five months, that we’re able to secure a new contract for further supply,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PetroCaribe Fund, Dr. Wesley Hughes, said one of the important things about this initiative is that it provides a template that other companies can follow in exporting goods to Venezuela.

“So we don’t have to go through this elaborate learning curve that we just completed. And there are long term opportunities for other companies and we at the PetroCaribe Fund are putting ourselves in a position to give as much help as possible,” he stated.

Clinker is used in the intermediate stage of cement production, and accounts for approximately 95 per cent of the material used to manufacture Portland cement, one of the more common types of this construction input.

VENEZUELA: Escasez de cemento provoca cierre de proyectos de construcción

No hay cemento ni cabilla en el estado Bolívar. Lo que se consigue, denuncian los sindicatos de la industria de la construcción, es a precios que superan hasta 10 veces el importe regulado.

La escasez del insumo ha generado la paralización de 17 proyectos en el municipio Caroní esta semana; la mayoría de ellos pequeños centros comerciales y complejos habitacionales que emplean alrededor de 2.300 trabajadores.

Frente a esta situación la representación de los trabajadores advierte que si en 15 días el desabastecimiento continúa entonces saldrán a protestar a la calle.

El presidente del Frente Unido de Trabajadores Socialistas de la Construcción, Héctor Dalí, exhortó al ministro de Industrias, Wilmer Barrientos; al presidente de la CVG y ministro de estado, Carlos Osorio y a las autoridades regionales de la entidad a que determinen qué ocurre.

“Queremos saber nosotros, los trabajadores del sector construcción, ¡qué está pasando con el cemento, específicamente en este estado!, ya que en ninguno de los otros estados tienen el problema que tiene el estado Bolívar y específicamente el municipio Caroní”, dijo.

Dalí expuso que los empresarios han cumplido con mantener la nómina de los proyectos desde el 7 de diciembre pero la situación ya es insostenible desde el punto de vista financiero. “Han venido pagándole la semana a los trabajadores sin producir y sin trabajar, pero ya no aguantan más.

Lamentablemente dicen que tienen que cerrar las puertas”. La crisis, sin embargo, no es por la escasez del producto. “Sí se consigue (el cemento) pero por otros canales que no son los regulares a 240 bolívares y en el mes de diciembre lo ofrecieron a 100 bolívares y estos empresarios, muchos de ellos, por solicitud del sindicato, mantenían a los trabajadores -viéndose en la necesidad de pagar el cemento a ese precio- porque para ellos es mejor perder 100 mil bolívares en gandolas que 800 mil bolívares en las nóminas de los trabajadores”.

“Queremos que realmente se investigue antes de darle un cupo (de cemento) a una empresa (…) a los que le están dando cemento, la mayoría, ninguno tiene obra y hoy están vendiendo el producto porque un grupito, por amiguismo o lo que sea, tiene secuestrado los cupos de cemento”.

Dali dijo que los trabajadores saldrán a protestar en los próximos días. “No nos vamos a quedar de brazos cruzados (…) nosotros ya no podemos seguir forzando la barrera porque si no estaríamos llevando a la quiebra a las empresas que están construyendo”

El concejal por el municipio Caroní, Aquiles Campos, aseveró que la corrupción está en manos de empresas de maletín que están revendiendo el producto y esto debe ser investigado.

Como dirigente del Sindicato Único de la Construcción (Sutic) en Tocoma denunció, además, la paralización del 100 por ciento de la obra civil que presenta un 88 por ciento de avance en la Central Hidroeléctrica Manuel Carlos Piar.

Violencia y construcción

Sobre los señalamientos del ministro de Interior y Justicia, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, acerca de las bandas delictivas que se hacen pasar por sindicatos, el Frente Unido de Trabajadores Socialistas de la Construcción respaldó la aseveración y pidió apoyo en capturar a los extorsionadores.

Dalí señaló que los sindicatos no pueden controlar todo lo que se mueve a su alrededor, pero sí a quienes son dirigentes de los sindicatos. Y sobre eso dijo que dos dirigentes de comité ejecutivo fueron asesinados en el 2013, lo que para ellos representa una baja en el número de sicariatos dentro del sector en comparación a otros años.

Al presidente del Frente le pareció curioso el comentario del ministro junto al gobernador del estado Bolívar, Francisco Rangel Gómez, quien lidera la mesa de seguridad sindical. “Él más que nadie sabe del éxito de esa mesa”, comentó.

NIGERIA: Coalition to Launch Campaign for Standardisation of Cement

A coalition of civil society groups and professional bodies in the construction industry is set to launch a major campaign for the standardisation of cement production and importation.

Specifically, the coalition said it would call on the relevant authorities to initiate actions to make 42.5 grade of cement the standard product in Nigeria.

It noted that nearly all the cement manufacturers and importers in the country are in the habit of taking advantage of the lax regulation and lack of enforcement to vary their pigmentation in favour of the lower grade cement (32.5), which in most cases, is used in building works, and seen to be partly responsible for building collapse.

Speaking on the development, the coalition’s spokesperson, Mr. Tunde Ojo, blamed the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, for alleged complicity with manufacturers and vowed to mobilise block makers nation-wide against manufacturers and importers of poor quality cement.

In the working document titled: ‘Cement: Standardisation, Safety Versus Affordability and Poor Quality’, the coalition said:

“How do you identify good quality cement, is it by the manufacturer's name, or by its composition, or pigmentation, if you like? Many a people, whether literate or not, identify cement mere by producer’s name. So, it is common to see most people, builders and non-builders alike, identifying with Eagle Cement for instance, or Elephant Cement, or Dangote Cement, Rock Cement, UNICEM, BUA and so on, just to mention but a few. It matters very little to most buyers or customers, what the composition or the contents or pigmentation of the cement bag is. For many, what influences what brand of cement to

buy, is the price, and in most cases, the proximity to the point of usage.

“What that means is that, in a cement market where you have displayed products from Lafarge, Dangote, UNICEM, Ibeto and Northern Cement Company of Nigeria, BUA, Ashaka for instance, buying anyone as experience has shown, would essentially be a function of price and proximity. Not many, without stretching the argument too far, would be concerned, or are even conscious about quality. To them, they are all cement, the difference perhaps, is like six and half-a-dozen. But it is beyond that.

"They are of the conviction that the practice which is quite prevalent, is usually overlooked by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), a situation they claim is partly responsible for the worrisome cases of collapsed structures in the country.

The coalition plans to take its campaign to the National Assembly with a plea that the lawmakers probe manufacturers and importers of cement for compromising standards in the building and construction sub-sector.

The agitators say they will enlist the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to prompt SON to be alive to its responsibilities by ensuring that strict standards are maintained and offenders punished. They will also call for the enforcement of the National Building Code, stressing that it could go a long way in addressing the lax control by regulatory authorities.

The civil society groups argued further that they were equally reaching out to the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) to lend its voice to this unwholesome practice of cement manufacturers which according of them, is endangering the lives of the people. 

They vowed to confront the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) for poor standard of locally produced and imported cement

They contend that their stance is not unpatriotic, rather, it should be seen as a fight not to compromise standards on the altar of monetary gain.

They claim in their working document that in the advanced countries, there is migration from the lower grade of cement or 32.5 to the higher level 42.5 specification and even 52.5 with a uniform standard set by government, manufacturers and importers

can be held accountable whenever there is infraction or reduction in agreed specification.

“Maintaining standards for all products' range, there are standards. Cement may not be a drug, but it has fatalistic effects as it happens in bridges and buildings collapse when low quality specimens are used. And this has been a recurring decimal in Nigeria. The unfortunate thing is, those who are charged with the responsibility of investigating these recurring mishaps, have never looked the way of the quality of cement used in some of these structures, rather, only the contractors bear the brunt. It is important that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), if they are the ones in charge, should take a closer look at the quality of cement churned out by local manufacturers and also the imported ones as well.

“Types of Cement; broadly speaking there are two, or may be three types of cement common in Nigeria. There's the CEM 1 42.5 R and CEM 1 42.5 N on the one hand; and CEM 32.5 R, on the other hand. 

"Besides, there are variants of these with different specifications. The CEM I 42.5 R and CEM I 42.5 N cements are produced with clinker and limestone in the ration of 95 per cent: five per cent respectively. The gypsum that is added during the grounding process is for adjustment of the setting period, which is usually obtained at the end of 28 days.

“Among other applications, this cement is used when good strength concrete is required, especially in concrete productions requiring high strength, or early strength. Also, it is used in productions of thin section reinforced concrete and in highly reinforced concrete buildings, among other uses. CEM II 32.5 is suitable for flooring and wall plastering (rendering).”

PAKISTAN: No cement unit allowed use of tyre derived fuel without permission

No cement unit is now allowed to import or use Tyre Derived Fuel (TDF) without obtaining consent from the concerned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Designated National Authority (DNA) of the related international convention-protocol.

According to new guidelines issued by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA), cement industry would also be required to produce information and report to the concerned EPA on monthly basis, including quantity of TDF imported, quantity of TDF used, quantity of local TDF used and amount of coal-fuel used during its operations.

A clean TDF is composed of about 80-88% of carbon and oxygen, which accounts for its rapid combustion and relatively high heating value in the range of 7000-8000 kcal/kg. Cement units will procure clean, properly sized (2 inch), high-energy-content Tyre Derived Fuel as far as possible. Each consignment of TDF will be accompanied by a certificate from DNA of the exporting country verifying that the consignment of TDF does not contain or is contaminated with hazardous substances.

An official said the objective of these guidelines is to provide guidance for using TDF as supplementary fuel in the cement manufacturing and prescribe procedures for monitoring of emissions. He said: “Pakistan has 29 cement plants with total installed capacity of 44 million tons. The shortage of natural gas and increasing cost of oil and coal adversely affected cement production in the country. A number of cement units then approached the federal and provincial Environmental Protection Agencies for issuance of consent under local, national and international obligations for import, processing and use of TDF.”

The official said every cement factory would get its feeding system and pollution control technologies-equipment inspected before the use of TDF as fuel and a joint team comprising the representatives of DNA and concerned EPA would assess the facilities of the cement unit and also witness the test trial of use of TDF.

CANADA: Cement industry furious after Quebec gives $350 million to competing factory

The cement industry reacted with “anger, even fury” Friday after Pauline Marois confirmed Quebec would invest $350 million in a $1-billion cement factory in Gaspésie.

But Laurent Beaudoin, the driving force behind the McInnis Cement project, said in a telephone interview that “it’s because these guys are in the markets we’re targeting (in the U.S. northeast), and they don’t want to see us around. We’ve done a lot of work on efficiency (for the future plant) and it’ll be one of the most modern and productive in the world. And they haven’t invested in their facilities in 40 years.”

Beaudoin is chairman of aircraft and rail manufacturer Bombardier Inc. and the principal in personal investment firm Groupe Beaudier, which controls McInnis Cement.

The industry and unions representing the four existing cement kilns in Quebec said they were gobsmacked by the announcement of the funding for McInnis Cement, which announced it would go ahead with the vast industrial project that will start construction this spring. At completion, slated for 2016, it would produce 2.2 million tons of cement powder annually, with a possible 15 per cent increase subsequently.

Michael McSweeney, president of the Cement Association of Canada, said in a telephone interview that “our members are feeling anger, even fury” that the vast sum of taxpayer money Quebec is spending would harm his four members, whose businesses were built with private financing. The four Quebec plants received a total of about $7 million in funding for various projects from Quebec over the last 25 years, he said.

The project is not only unnecessary, McSweeney argued, but would seriously exacerbate the cement overcapacity that is expected to last for another decade.

“We are operating at probably 60 per cent of our capacity, there are people laid off, we have never been sold out since the Montreal Olympics (in 1976), and we are still in a recession. And the U.S. northeast (where McInnis says it will export most of its output) is in a disastrous recession.”

“I think the Quebec government is doing this for political points coming into an election. This project has been talked about for many years, it’s been on the drawing board for 25 years. And I don’t know why anybody who takes a minimal amount of time to understand the cement fundamentals could think that this plant could work, especially in the next 10 years.”

He said there is an unused capacity of about 1.2 million tons annually in Quebec, plus another 600,000 tons in Pennsylvania and New York.

McSweeney also urged environmental groups to “hold (McInnis’s) feet to the fire” on environmental permits for the project.

One of the previous management groups that weighed the project obtained an environmental permit for clearing the land.

“But if Quebec is going to invest $350 million,” said McSweeney, “they should have to apply for every permit required — water, land, greenhouse gases, construction. Like we had to do.”

But Beaudoin dismissed that.

After Groupe Beaudier bought the quarry with 450 million tons of limestone that is to serve as feedstock for the plant for about a century, “we asked if we had to go to the BAPE (Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement) and the Quebec government said no. We had the (initial land clearing) permit and all we have to do is upgrade it.”

The plant will surpass stricter environmental norms that will come into effect in the U.S. in 2015, Beaudoin said.

McSweeney said “it sounds like Quebec could have the tendency to look the other way.”

He said he was astounded that Quebec would devote $350 million in a project that should be privately financed “when we need a Champlain Bridge, we need all sorts on infrastructure things.”

In a telephone interview, Investissement Québec president Mario Albert swatted away suggestions the project was not viable and was an electoral ploy for votes in Gaspésie, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in Quebec.

“Laurent Beaudoin is not in business to lose money. And they did a very serious analysis with the Caisse (de dépot et placement du Québec). These are serious people and it’s a viable project.”

He said that the oversupply is “theoretical.”

“True, at full capacity there would be an overcapacity, but these are very old plants, as are the U.S. ones, and they don’t operate nearly at full capacity.”

“Currently, Quebec manufacturers actually import cement.”

Beaudoin said that his plant would supply that roughly 300,000 tons of cement the four currently import from South Korea — in addition to the U.S. Northeast.

The Quebec government will provide guaranteed loans totalling $250 million and will take an equity stake worth about $100 million “to have our say in the project in future,” said Albert.

Groupe Beaudier and the Caisse will form an as-yet unnamed joint venture that will have a 51-per-cent stake in the project. It will be presided over by Christian Gagnon, whom Beaudoin said has 35 years’ experience in the cement industry around the world.

The Caisse is injecting $100 million while Groupe Beaudier is investing $150 million.

Beaudoin said that other “smaller, well-heeled investors,” many of them Quebecers, also agreed to invest. He would not name them but said some are well-known.

The National Bank of Canada is managing the group investment but is not investing itself, said Beaudoin.

INDIA: South cement makers now start exports to Myanmar

Depressed market conditions for the second year running have forced cement makers in south India to look at different export markets. After testing the Sri Lankan market, manufacturers have now started exporting to Myanmar. 

It is learnt that Chettinad Cements, The India Cements, Dalmia Cements and Ramco Cements have started shipping cement to Myanmar in the past few months. 

"We started shipments to Myanmar last month of about 10,000 to 12,000 tonnes. It is not very remunerative, but when the chips are down, we have do something to stay afloat," said Vipin Agarwal, CEO-south, Dalmia Cements. He said that manufacturers make token profits from this market, but have started seeding it with the hope that it will turn profitable in future. Dalmia moves its cement from Dalmiapuram near Trichy in central Tamil Nadu to Tuticorin port in southern Tamil Nadu, from where it heads to Myanmar.

KENYA: Balala Accuses Cement Firms of Exploitation

Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has accused some cement companies in the country of exaggerating prices following the introduction of a Sh140 levy per tonne of cement.

Balala argues that the firms were supposed to increase the prices by Sh7 for 50 kilogram bag but some have gone up to Sh20 higher causing what he termed as anxiety in the growing manufacturing sector.

The companies had an agreement with the ministry that the levy should not lead to unnecessary price hike and distort the market.

"We had several meetings in my office and agreed that the increase should not go beyond Sh7. But they have actually betrayed what we had in these discussions. I didn't expect them to go back on their word," he complained.

The CS terms the extra increase as exploitation adding that most Kenyans tend to assume that cost of goods must go up when there is such a move.

"They promised there will be no this king of increase, but now they are using this to incite the people of Kenya in the name of cost of living."

Competition following entries of new players in the market including National Cement, Savannah Cement and Mombasa Cement, has led to continued drop in cement prices in Nairobi to Sh640 a bag in Nairobi from a peak of Sh740 in 2010. However prices outside Nairobi remain higher due to transportation costs.

The major cement companies include Bamburi Cement, Athi River Mining and East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC).

"If we want to deal with government, let's be honest. It is a partnership that we value and which must be respected with honesty. But if it is going be like this, then we are not in the business of playing games. We have to do the right thing for our people," Balala said.

The Cabinet Secretary in a gazette notice signed on December 18 said the cement companies will be required to give the levy for the finished product. He at the same time cancelled a previous notice which had directed the informed the firms that they would be charged a levy of percent of turnover.

However Kenya's prices are still under the principle of supply and demand which makes it tricky for the ministry to control the cement prices hence leaving Kenyans with the burden.