INDIA: UltraTech Cement commissions grinding unit in West Bengal

With the new grinding unit, UltraTech’s total cement capacity in the eastern region stands at 9.8mt per annum, operating at 100% utilization.

UltraTech Cement Ltd on Wednesday announced commissioning of a grinding unit in West Bengal, increasing the company’s total cement capacity to 64.7 million tonnes (mt).

“The company has commissioned a cement grinding unit with a capacity of 1.6 million tonnes at Dankuni in West Bengal,” the company said in its statement to BSE on Wednesday.

In the last six months, the company has announced three new capacity additions, including a bulk terminal in Maharashtra, another 1.6mt grinding unit in Haryana and a clinker capacity of 2mt in Rajasthan.

With the new grinding unit, UltraTech’s total cement capacity in the eastern region stands at 9.8mt per annum, operating at 100% utilization, said the company statement.

Prices in the eastern region have been on the higher side, but dealers and analysts expect them to soften due to weak demand.

“The eastern market saw limited price movement and soft demand could herald some correction in future,” wrote analysts Mihir Jhaveri and Siddharth Vora in a Religare Institutional Research report dated 30 September.

UltraTech Cement, is also in the process to acquire Jaiprakash Associates’ two cement assets in Madhya Pradesh for a deal value of Rs.5,400 crore. The cement producer looks to raise its total cement capacity to 71mt, after it completes planned expansions and acquisitions.

Shares of UltraTech Cement dropped 0.67% to Rs.2,694 at 1.22pm on Wednesday on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex gained 0.98% to 26,030.08 points.

PHILIPPINES: Northern Cement starts $200-M expansion

Northern Cement Corp. (NCC), the cement manufacturing subsidiary of San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corp., is set to double its capacity to more than two million tons as part of its expansion project.

The company recently held ground breaking ceremonies for its $200 million capacity expansion project in its cement plant in Sison, Pangasinan.

Northern Cement president Ramon Ang said the expansion supports the growing infrastructure industry in the country.

“The economy and the infrastructure sector are growing rapidly and by expanding Northern Cement, we are supporting the development efforts of the Philippine government and reducing dependence on imported cement,” Ang said.

Established in 1968, Northern Cement is one of the pioneers in the local cement industry.

With the entry of the San Miguel Group as an equity shareholder in 2012, Northern Cement has since completed a modernization program, acquiring the latest manufacturing technologies for its existing lines.

San Miguel is building five new cement plants with a total annual capacity of 10 million tons.

Affiliates Northern Cement and Eagle Cement will build the new plants in Pangasinan, Bulacan, Quezon, Davao and Cebu, with a capacity of two million metric tons each.

San Miguel owns a 35 percent stake in Northern Cement, a company owned by SMC chairman Eduardo Cojuangco, while Eagle Cement is privately owned by Ang.

The additional 10 million metric tons of cement capacity would bring the San Miguel Group’s cement capacity to roughly 16 million metric tons.

For all five plants, San Miguel is pouring in $1 billion, higher than the earlier announced budget of $800 million.

Ang said the industry has a current capacity of 33 million metric tons which would increase to roughly 43 million once the new cement plants of the San Miguel Group are in place.

SMC previously announced its intention to go full blast with its expansion into cement and power. The conglomerate has been bullish about the local cement industry as the Philippines has a per capita consumption of 170 kilos, far lower than the per capita consumption of 1,000 kilos in other countries.

TANZANIA: Dangote to Commission Tanzanian Cement Plant

Dangote Cement Plc has concluded plans to commission its new 3.0 million metric tonnes cement plant located in Mtwara District of Tanzania on October 10, 2015.

According to a statement, the company will also unveil its 25 hectares of Jetty land at Mgao village in Mtwara District the same day.

The company noted that the commissioning of the new cement plant is part of its Africa expansion strategy and will be the fourth in the series after Ethiopia, Zambia and Cameroun, adding that cement plants due for commissioning this year include that of Senegal and South Africa, while construction works are ongoing in several other African countries.

With the plant in operation, Tanzania is on its way to becoming one of African countries that are self-sufficient in cement production.

Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo Osinbajo, while speaking at the commissioning of Zambian plant, lauded Aliko Dangote on his investment in several African countries, saying the Federal Government is proud of the company.

Osinbajo, who described Aliko Dangote as an exceptional African entrepreneur, commended his phenomenal vision, entrepreneurship and commitment to the development of Africa and Africans.

He said: "Dangote is a Nigerian from Kano State and he is a pan-Nigerian and pan-African who has done us all proud and his companies spread over 16 African countries, are a signal of an African multinational enterprise."

INDONESIA: Indonesia to Overtake Vietnam as Asia's Largest Cement Producer

The Indonesian Cement Association is optimistic that Indonesia could grow into Asia's largest cement producer by 2017, as eight new production plants with a combined capacity of 24 million tonnes are set to begin operations in the next two years.

After meeting with President Joko Widodo, the Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association, Widodo Santoso, explained that sales of cement is expected to grow by two percent to 61,08 million tonnes in 2015 - up from 2014 sales figures that stood at 59,9 million tonnes.

"I am sure that demand will continue to rise as many of the government's large-scale infrastructure projects are set to commence in February next year - as such, a five percent increase is easily within reach," said Santoso at the President's Office on Monday, September 28.

Santoso said that the growth in demand is accompanied by the increase of Indonesia's national production output - it is known that Indonesia currently produces around 65 million tonnes of cement annually. In 2015, four new production plants are slated to commence their operations, while four others are set to begin churning out cement in 2016. Combined, all eight plants could produce an additional 24 million tonnes of cement per year.

"By 2017, we are set to become Asia's largest cement producer. Previously, the industry was dominated by Vietnam and Thailand - by next year, we should be able to cement Indonesia's position as an industry leader," said Santoso.

The four plants that will begin operations in 2015 are owned by Bosowa Cement, Holcim, Merah Putih Cement, and Pan Asia Cement - all of these plants combined will add some 11-12 million tonnes of cement per year to the market.

"This additional capacity will allow us to export a minimum of five million tonnes - quite a significant addition that could help Indonesia boost its' trade balance," said Santoso.

BOLIVIA: Se inicia en Oruro construcción de la primera cementera estatal

Con un retraso de aproximadamente un mes, el consorcio Sacyr (de Alemania y España) comenzará, esta semana, la construcción de la primera fábrica estatal de cemento que estará en Oruro. Con ese fin, se instaló el campamento y movilizó maquinaria hasta Caracollo.

El encargado de área de la Secretaría Departamental de Minería y Metalurgia de la Gobernación de Oruro, Víctor Laime, informó que en una visita a la zona verificó que la plataforma sobre la cual se asentará la planta está lista, por lo que solo resta que comiencen las obras civiles.

Los representantes de Sacyr (parte del consorcio alemán-español Polysius-Sacyr-Imasa) que están a cargo del emplazamiento de la factoría le informaron a Laime que la obra gruesa comenzará esta semana y también le aseguraron que la demora de un mes no afectará en la entrega de la cementera, cuyo plazo es de 36 meses, de los que ya transcurrieron seis.

Tiempo. “Hay un ligero retraso, pero que según Juan Carlos Carreño, que es representante de obras de Sacyr, ese tiempo va a ser recuperado; nos ha dicho que con la maquinaria que va a llegar se va a cumplir con el cronograma establecido”, explicó Laime.

Pero esa demora, según el funcionario de la entidad regional, también se debe a que el Gobierno Municipal de Caracollo demoró en la provisión de agua y electricidad.

La sociedad alemana-española se adjudicó la edificación de la fábrica de la Empresa Pública Productiva Cementos de Bolivia (Ecebol) por $us 244,1 millones en abril de 2014.

El proceso de contratación incluyó el diseño Greenfield, la provisión de maquinaria, equipos, construcción, montaje, puesta en marcha, así como la capacitación del personal y asesoramiento de recursos humanos.

Esa planta está siendo emplazada en la comunidad Jeruyo de la Central Cañohuma del municipio de Caracollo, sobre una extensión aproximada de 74 hectáreas. Laime explicó que se decidió construir la factoría en esa zona porque allí se identificó la existencia de un depósito de piedra caliza (materia prima del cemento) de 85,7 millones de toneladas.

En la verificación que realizó al lugar, el funcionario de la Gobernación orureña pudo constatar que para instalar la factoría ya se hizo el respectivo estudio de suelos, se procedió con el enmallado del muro perimetral, se armó la maestranza, se instaló el campamento que será habitado por los obreros, entre otros trabajos.

“En los 30 meses, periódicamente vamos a ir al sector a verificar, porque nos interesa más que todo el montaje. En Oruro es una experiencia nueva en cuanto a fábricas de cemento y nos interesa hacer seguimiento a esta construcción”, manifestó.

Según datos oficiales, un estudio del Servicio Nacional de Geología y Técnico de Minas (Sergiotecmin) estableció que en 15 kilómetros cuadrados que circundan la planta hay 85,7 millones de toneladas de piedra caliza, cantidad que podrá ser explotada en lo inmediato. Adicionalmente hay una reserva de 112 millones de toneladas. A ello se suman que en la zona donde se emplazará la fábrica hay 8,7 millones de toneladas.

La capacidad de producción de cemento será de 1,3 millones de toneladas al año, lo que la constituirá en la más grande planta del país.Cuando se firmó el contrato de construcción en mayo de la pasada gestión, el presidente Evo Morales aseguró que sobraba materia prima para industrializar el cemento.

Para su funcionamiento, la fábrica de Ecebol utilizará gas natural, proveniente de un ducto cercano a la zona, mientras que el Gobierno construirá un camino pavimentado de acceso desde Caracollo.

Si bien la inversión es de $us 244,1 millones, que es un crédito del Banco Central de Bolivia (BCB), adicionalmente el Gobierno dispuso un monto de $us 306 millones para gastos de operación.

Detalles técnicos de la planta

Inversión

El Estado invierte $us 244.159.000 en la puesta en marcha de la primera Empresa Pública Productiva de Cementos de Bolivia (Ecebol).

Recursos

Ese monto incluye la construcción de una subestación eléctrica, valorada en $us 2 millones. Pero la inversión total en Ecebol llegará a $us 306 millones con gastos de operación.

Ubicación

La factoría está ubicada en el norte del municipio de Caracollo, Oruro, en la comunidad Jeruyo de la Central Cañohuma. Su extensión es de aproximadamente 74 hectáreas.