VENEZUELA: Sector construcción dispone de 5.000.000 de toneladas de Cemento

Con la producción de 732 mil toneladas durante el mes de agosto, el Estado venezolano superó los cinco millones de toneladas de cemento, que están disponibles para ser incorporadas a los planes de vivienda y otras políticas que promueve el Gobierno para el desarrollo nacional, informó el ministro de Ciencia, Tecnología e Industrias Intermedias, Ricardo Menéndez. 

“Hemos alcanzado en el mes de agosto una de las cifras más altas en la producción de cemento del país”, destacó durante una inspección a la planta Cerro Azul, ubicada en el estado Monagas. 

Menéndez precisó que en el pasado, cuando las empresas estaban en manos privadas, cerca del 50% de la producción de cemento se iban fuera del país y destacó que tras la nacionalización de estas empresas estratégicas para el desarrollo nacional, toda la producción se queda en el país. 

También señalo que se han invertido 2.5 millones en el desarrollo de la obra, y se esta trabajando para que se inaugure otras plantas de cemento en el país el próximo año 2012, con una inversión estimada de 200 millones de dolares. 

El Ministro destacó que en un año y medio se han recuperado las cementeras del estado y se han invertido 620 millones de dolares. Y se cuentan con 700 trabajadores activos, para el próximo año 2012 se incorporaran 300 trabajadores a las empresas cementeras.

PARAGUAY: “Guerra” del cemento explota en frontera con Argentina

El negocio del cemento nuevamente es motivo de una guerra entre sectores. Por un lado, los cementeros de Encarnación cerraron el Puente Internacional Roque Santa González rechazando el aumento del canon para el ingreso del cemento argentino, y por el otro, empresas argentinas en la frontera deciden priorizar su mercado local.

El sitio Territorio Digital informó ayer que una protesta del lado paraguayo impide el paso de vehículos por el puente internacional debido a que la aduana paraguaya decidió aumentar el canon que se cobra por el paso de cemento desde la Argentina que irritó a “los cementeros”.

Desde cerca de las 11:15 de la mañana, “los cementeros” de Encarnación cortaron el puente internacional San Roque González en reclamo por el aumento del canon para el ingreso de cemento argentino al Paraguay.

La misma fuente informó que los paseros de cemento, que llevan el producto desde Argentina al Paraguay, reclaman porque la aduana decidió aumentar de 50.000 guaraníes a 85.000 guaraníes el canon que debían abonar, por camión para ingresar los productos, citando como fuente a la Radio República.

“Cada uno de los los furgones que utilizan para transportar el cemento carga hasta tres mil kilogramos de cemento y les dejaría una ganancia de cerca de doce mil pesos (cerca de 12 millones de guaraníes)”, señala la publicación agregando que la bolsa se compra en Argentina entre 40 y 45 pesos (1 peso vale 910 guaraníes) y mientras se comercializa en Paraguay por 60 ó 65 pesos.

PRIORIZAN A ARGENTINA

Por otra parte, en el portal Línea Capital informó ayer Gabriela Diblasi, gerente de Pomaco que esa empresa no vende cemento y otros materiales a clientes paraguayos, priorizando a los clientes locales en Argentina. Desde las empresas de construcción de la capital provincial denunciaron una competencia desleal entre las casas de materiales de construcción que involucra también a los paseros encarnacenos.

“Nosotros particularmente no vendemos a los clientes de Paraguay, porque en Argentina hay sobredemanda, hay escasez de cemento y el crecimiento que hubo en la construcción hizo que las fábricas estén sobrevendidas. Nosotros priorizamos los clientes locales”, dijo la contadora.

IRAN: Iran's cement export up by 13.5 percent

Over 4,500,000 tons of cement and clinker were exported in the first five months of the current Iranian year (started March 21), it was announced here on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in Kashan, secretary of Cement Industry Employers Association affiliated to Iran national cement industry said the figure indicates a 13.5 percent increase compared to the corresponding period last year. 

Mohammad Hossein Pour-Khalil added that the value of the exported cement stood at dlrs 335 million, expressing hope that the figure could hit one billion dollars by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2012). 

'Over 60 percent of the cement produced in Iran was exported to Iraq, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Persian Gulf littoral states,' he said. 

The official hoped that the country's cement export could reach 10 million tons by the end of this year.

AFRICA: MOZAMBIQUE: Cimentos de Moçambique to increase cement production at Matola plant

The Cimentos de Moçambique cement plan in the Mozambican city of Matola is set to add 700,000 tons to its annual production of 600,000 tons once a new grinding unit, which was officially inaugurated Thursday, starts operating.

The new unit, which has been operating since Last June, represents an investment of 18 million euros and will help to increase cement supply on the national market, particularly in the south of Mozambique.

According to the Chief Executive of Cimentos de Portugal (Cimpor), Francisco de Lacerda, the investment will ensure that prices stabilise on the market and reduce speculation by some retailers of the product.

The new grinding unit is part of an expansion and modernisation plan for the main cement plant in Mozambique, which includes, amongst other things, refurbishment of the clinker line, reconversion of the fuel process used to manufacture the product from coal to natural gas, modernisation of the medium and high voltage network and replacement of the bagging lines for the end product.

The programme of investments, expected to be concluded by 2013, is estimated to cost 32 million euros.

Cimentos de Moçambique is 82 percent-owned by Cimentos de Portugal (Cimpor) and by Mozambican state companies Portos e Caminhos de Ferro e Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros with the remaining 18 percent.

RAK: RAK Cement to produce oil well cement

RAK Cement has gained regulatory approval to start producing cement for oil wells, according to a note to investors.

The Ras Al Khaimah manufacturer of ordinary and sulphate-resistant Portland cement, as well as Powercrete, said the American Petroleum Institute has completed its audit and awarded its Monogram badge to the company.

The cement is used in the grouting of both on and off-shore oil wells. It is made from the clinker of Portland cement and cement that has been hydraulically blended. It is able to withstand temperatures of up to 500° Fahrenheit due to the additions of coke, iron ore and iron scrap. It sets very slowly due to organic 'retarders' which prevent it from setting too fast.

Oil well cement comes in three grades: grade ‘O’ is ordinary and the most common; HSR is high sulphate resistant; and MSR is moderate sulphate resistant. The use of each grade depends on the particular range of oil well sulphate environments, temperatures, pressures, and depths.

BOLIVIA: Fancesa importa 100 mil bolsas de cemento por falta de clínker

La Fábrica Nacional de Cemento SA (Fancesa) importará 100 mil bolsas de cemento desde Perú para abastecer la demanda interna debido a la falta de clínker (materia prima del cemento) para la elaboración de ese producto.

El director de la empresa, Vladimir Gutiérrez, en declaraciones a la red televisiva ATB, manifestó que esta decisión se debe a que la fábrica llegó a su límite de capacidad para la fabricación de clínker. “Lamentablemente hay que velar por el mercado interno, por eso se autorizó la importación de cemento”, dijo.

La empresa necesita cumplir con los requerimientos del mercado interno, sobre todo de la constructora Concretec que tiene varios proyectos de pavimento rígido en pleno proceso de ejecución en el país.

En marzo, luego de que el Estado se hizo cargo de las acciones de la Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (Soboce) en Fancesa, el nuevo directorio de la compañía concretó un contrato con la firma Polysius, para la modernización de su horno industrial de clínker marca Kawasaki.

Pero este acuerdo no se concretará en el corto plazo y aún se espera que los resultados del incremento de producción se vean a partir de fines del año 2012, cuando se espera que Fancesa produzca 75.000 toneladas (tn) de cemento mensuales; cabe señalar que actualmente provee al mercado nacional de 58.000 tn cada mes.

Gutiérrez acusó a la anterior administración, a cargo de la Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (Soboce) por no haber invertido en mejorar el equipamiento para la producción, “porque resulta que hay una capacidad instalada mayor para producir cemento pero no tenemos la capacidad para producir clínker, ahí tenemos el cuello de botella”.

A mediados de agosto, la estatal Fancesa, dos semanas después de que lo hicieron las empresas privadas del rubro, subió el precio de la bolsa de cemento de 50 kilos, 51,50 a 56 bolivianos (un 7,8%).

Las otras factorías del sector como Soboce, Coboce e Itacamba, subieron sus precios, entre otras causas, por la insuficiente provisión de gas para uno de los hornos de la planta de Cemento Viacha, donde se produce clínker. Soboce tuvo que importar el producto con un sobreprecio de 375%. Ahora, la estatal Fancesa también sufre la falta de clínker.

En agosto, el directorio de Fancesa dijo que la demanda de su producto subió en el mercado como consecuencia del alza en los precios de otras marcas y anunció la probable importación de clínker.

AFRICA: GHANA: Greenview cement denies Tax evasion charge

Contrary to reports in the Ghanaian media that the Greenview International Company Limited, the Nigerian owned cement manufacturing company, is causing huge economic loses to the state by paying less duties on its imported finished products through misclassification, the vice chairman of the company has stated otherwise. 

Mr. Tajudeen A. Sijuade said the allegation by his competitors that his company by the close of 2010 imported about 265,000 tonnes of finished cement into the country, and misclassified it as raw materials, and as such paid a concessionary duty rate of five percent instead of 20 percent, which is equivalent to GH¢6.9 million is erroneous and misleading. 

The Greenview International Company Limited vice chairman denied the allegation during a press tour of the factory at Tema on Wednesday. 

GHACEM and Diamond Cement, the two leading cement manufacturing companies in the country, filed a joint petition against the company, alleging that while they import clinker, which is the main raw material for the production of cement anywhere in the world to produce cement in the country, Greenview Cement imports finished cement and misclassify it as raw materials, under the label 'Grey Ordinary Portland Cement'. 

The two companies further alleged that as per internationally acceptable standards, Clinker as imported by them is clearly classified under HS Code 2523.10.00.00, while Finished Grey Ordinary Portland cement is explicitly classified under HS Code 2523.29.00.00. 

The petitioners claimed that because of the misclassification by Greenview Cement, the government of Ghana only raked in a quarter of the actual duty rate that it was expected to make from the importation of the finished cement product. 

They continued that Greenview Cement has set up an import terminal at the light industrial area around Tema Community Three (3), where its cement bagging activities, as approved on the schedule of environmental permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2003 are carried out. 

The two companies claim further that what Greenview is doing does not encourage fair competition and, therefore, called on the government to address the problem promptly. 

Denying the allegation by GHACEM and Diamond Cement, Mr. Sijuade explained that his company had satisfied all the requirements under the laws of the land, and subsequently getting the approval from all the institutions involved. 

He elucidated that under the laws of Ghana, a company is allowed to pay the five percent concessionary duty rate if it invests over US$15million and also add value to its products. 

Continuing, he pointed out that the power to determine what is value addition does not rest with the two companies and, therefore, it is not right for the two companies to try and twist facts about their operations. 

According to him, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) among others, are very much aware of their existence in the country, and have approved of the activities, referring to a letter from the Finance Ministry to the Commissioner of VAT Service about a year and two months ago as evidence. 

The letter, dated July 2nd, 2010, under the caption 'Application To Renew 5% Tax Revision Letter Granted Greenview International Company on 1st June, 2007,' and signed for the Minister by Dr. Samuel D. Ameyaw, Technical Advisor, was very explicit on the issue. 

It states; 'Investigations by the Tax Policy Unit of this Ministry confirm that Greenview International Company is a manufacturing concern whose business involves the manufacturing of Portland cement. Besides, the company has invested in excess of $15,000.000 in infrastructure. 

'In view of the value addition, I am directed by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning to inform you that MOFEP letter reference SA/MOFEP/CEPS/015, dated 1st June, 2007, and CEPS letter no. H/DUTY/11 of 6th June, 2007, granting Messrs Greenview International Company the 5% concessionary import duty on its semi finished unprocessed bulk cement, under Chapter 98 of the Customs Tariffs is still valid, copies of letters are attached for perusal. 

'It must be noted that the concession granted is not a permit and, therefore, cannot be said to have expired as the circumstances and basis under which the 5% concession was granted still pertain and have not changed', the letter explained. 

Mr. Sijuade explained that the Grey Portland cement in simple terms is the powdered form of clinker, which is produced within a much polluted environment, which creates much more dust. 

'We do not bring clinker to Ghana for ecological reasons. The whole world is now working hard to protect the environment. To discharge clinker from the vessel will create a lot of dust that will pollute the environment. 

'The long run effect on humans, plants and aquatic life of the Port is immeasurable. For this simple reason, we decided to join the world to protect the environment by bringing Grey Portland Cement to produce cement in Ghana', he noted. 

Touching on the staff strength of the company, the vice chairman said there are three (3) Nigerians, one permanent staff and two (2) trainers who come and go, two Indians and 325 Ghanaians, 183 permanent and 142 contract staff. 

Mr. James Jeyakumar, acting General Manager of Greenview International Company conducted members of the press round some of the departments of the company, including the control room, packer department, power house, generator room, silo discharge, pipes, material traps, vibrating screen, compressor room and loading base.

EUROPE: FLSmidth CEO sees very large potential in Russia

Russia is now the most promising market for cement plants due to high economic growth, high energy prices and the age of existing production capacity, Danish engineer FLSmidth's chief executive said on Friday.

"It is the most promising market we see at the moment," Chief Executive Jorgen Huno Rasmussen told Reuters after the company announced it had won a 150 million euros ($210 million) order for a complete cement plant in Russia.

Rasmussen said FLSmidth hoped to get more Russian orders and was in contact with several potential customers.

PAKISTAN: New Cement from Pakistan

The National Cooperative Council will soon issue cement to the market under a new brand name: "Co-op Cement," said Bandu Ranawaka, the chairman of the council. This cement will be imported from Thatta Company Ltd of Pakistan.


The maximum wholesale price of a bag of this cement will be Rs. 645 and the maximum retail price Rs 750. The government is already importing cement from another Pakistani company. That cement is called Lucky Cement.


There was a shortage of cement in the local market during the past few weeks, allegedly due to traders hoarding stocks.

AFRICA: NIGERIA: Flour Mills to boost local cement production

Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc said that plans are underway to boost its local production of cement to over two million metric tones per annum within the next two months, through its subsidiary — United Cement Company of Nigeria, Unicem, Limited.

Speaking in Lagos, weekend, Managing Director, Flour Mills, Mr. Emmanuel Ukpabi, said to achieve this, the company has installed a new crusher that is suitable to local climatic condition, adding that the new crusher which will be commissioned before the end of the third quarter, will help boost the company’s capacity utilisation.

He said, “Due to some technical and operational constraints Unicem managed to utilize only 60 per cent of its installed capacity of 2.5 million metric tones per annum at its green field cement plant situated at Mfamosing, near Calabar, Cross River State.

According to him, the installation and commissioning of the new crusher suitable to climatic conditions will boost capacity utilization to over two million metric tonnes.

He added that the increase in turnover will help the company break-even in its financial performance for the 2011 financial year.

He, however, said that the company is still faced with a number of challenges, ranging from the absence of good and accessible roads, power and community relations.

To this end, he disclosed that Unicem has invested about N25 billion in the construction of a cement evacuation road and is about completing a 128 kilometers gas pipeline project from Ikot Ekpene to Mfamosing.

“We remain confident that given stable and effective management, a speedy completion of the gas pipeline project plus a significant increase in capacity utilization, Unicem will be able to achieve a financial break-even point by the end of the current financial year and position itself towards making significant contributions to future group profitability,” he said.

Speaking further, Ukpabi said the company has completed the investment of about N150 billion in the execution of its core strategy and plans to further invest about N200 billion in its operations.

He explained that the initial investment was made in a variety of projects such as flour milling, cement, pasta, packaging, port infrastructure, power and other strategically critical sectors.

He said the company plans to pursue investments in the edible oils business, farming and the processing of products produced on Nigerian farmland and also seek to expand its animal feed business.

He said, “We are fully committed to playing a leading role in ensuring the successful implementation of the country’s agriculture policy.”

AFRICA: TANZANIA: Tanzania cement industry to rise 18%

Tanzania's cement production is expected to grow by 18% by the end of this year, well above the region rate of 13%, an Equity Research Cement Sector survey said.

The current cement production in Tanzania is estimated at 3 million tons per annum against a demand of 2.2 million tons as against Kenya's annual production of 2.2 million tons.

The major producer is the Tanzania Portland Cement in Dar es Salaam with production capacity of 1.4 million tons, followed by Tanga cement with 1.25 million tons annual capacity. And the Mbeya cement plant has an installed capacity of 350,000 tons.

Tanzania Securities, a stock brokerage firm that conducted the research, backed the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) by retail and business sector, infrastructure and mining sector share of market of 60 %, 20 % and 20 % respectively.

The company's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Moremi Marwa said the findings are good news to potential investors who should buy stocks of cement companies due to "economic momentum quickly returning to pre-global financial crisis."

"We expect the demand to grow at 18 % if the retail business, infrastructure development and mining investments are sustained," said Mr. Marwa last week.

The research, a guideline to investors, has analysed the sector in the past five years and also looked at industry activities for the next three years.

The construction and housing sector which have compounded the annual growth rate of about 10 % is the main drive of cement consumption, thus pushing up demand of the commodity.

Officiating, the construction of the Maweni Limistone Limited, a subsidiary of Kenya's Athi River Mining (ARM), president Jakaya Kikwete said cement production plays a crucial role in the development of the Tanzania construction sector.

According to President Kikwete, the contribution of the Tanzania construction sector to the overall GDP of the country rose from 5.1 % in 2001 to 6.5 % in 2007.

President Kikwete said, these statistics indicate that the Tanzania construction sector will continue to grow and to contribute more to the economic growth of the country. The demand for cement in the East Africa region is anticipated to grow at a rate of approximately 5-6 % in the next few years, which is twice the rate of projected economic growth, said president Kikwete.

With an expected production capacity of approximately 4,000 tons of cement per day and 1.5 million tons of cement per year, the new Tanzania cement plant will be the largest of its kind in the Eastern African zone and will be capable of addressing some of the growing demand for cement in the region, he added.

President Kikwete has applauded the Kenya-based company for being the first private company to build a cement factory in Tanzania.

After the construction of the new US$120 million ARM cement plant is completed, Tanzania will be the only country in the region to with four cement plants. Currently, cement plants include Mbeya Cement, Tanga Cement and Tanzania Portland Cement.

President Kikwete has said that, with the addition of this fourth plant, Tanzania cement production will double, to reach 3 million tons per year, which will allow Tanzania to begin selling their product to neighboring countries, where the demand for cement has also increased.

AFRICA: NIGERIA: As cement prices return to rooftops

The construction of roads, infrastructure and housing is reeling again under a vicious resurgence of cement prices. Reports have it that in many parts of the country, especially the Lagos metropolis, where development of housing projects is proceeding at a frenetic pace, a bag of cement now goes for as a high as N2,800 per bag.

This obviously tops the all time high price of N2,500 per bag reported in May 2011, when newly elected President Goodluck Jonathan summoned cement manufacturers and handed them an ultimatum to crash the prices of cement within one month.

At that meeting held on Monday, May 16, 2011 at the State House, Abuja, were the President of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN), Mr. Joseph Makoju, the nation’s foremost cement manufacturer and merchant, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of the BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad and the Country Manager of Lafarge Cement, Mr. Jean-Christophe Barbant. At the end of the meeting, the cement moguls addressed the media, offering to comply with the presidential directive.

On Monday, June 4, 2011, Dangote announced it was crashing the price of its own products to N1,500 per bag. Briefing cement distributors, the company’s Executive Director in charge of sales, Mr. Ekanem Etim, assured that his company would expand capacity to six million metric tonnes of cement per annum when its Ibeshe plant was inaugurated before the end of 2011.

The euphoria was contagious in the industry. The Executive Secretary of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN), Mr. James Salako, just like other ecstatic citizens, praised Dangote to high heavens. The President of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Mr. Tunji Bolu, pledged that his institute would set up a committee to monitor the prices of cement as a show of support for the government’s responsive gesture of driving down the prices of cement.

However, barely three months after the good news, as is usual with all things Nigerian, the situation has gotten worse than ever before because Nigerians are suddenly forced to part with more money than ever to buy this essential commodity which is central to the provision of shelter to a severely under-housed population. The installed capacity of the local cement industry is put at 15 million metric tonnes, and yet it will require at least 25 million metric tonnes to meet the booming demand and stabilise prices at an affordable level.

According to current reports, the commodity is now scarce mainly because of the old culprit and nemesis of Nigerian industrialisation: poor public power supply. It was recently reported that the national grid lost about 1,000 megawatts of electricity to low gas supply to power stations, especially the nation’s largest plant at Egbin in Lagos. Other sources simply blamed the market forces of demand and supply, whereby demand continues to outstrip supply.

A recent market survey by Vanguard Newspapers in the Ojodu Berger, Isheri and Sabo areas of Lagos State and Alagbole, Akute, Olambe, Oshere and Matogun areas of Ifo in Ogun State indicated that unit prices of cement blocks have risen from N120 to N150 for six inches blocks, while nine inches moulds now fetch N175 apiece rather than the former N135.

A lesson to be learned from the forced crashing of cement prices — an old economic lesson at that — is that it is pointless to decree or dictate the prices of commodities in a free market. During the dark days of the military, efforts to force down prices eventually resulted in empty shelves and severe scarcity of essential consumer commodities. The attempt by the President to force down prices has clearly backfired. This was because other connective measures to boost production or even importation to create equilibrium between demand and supply were not taken.

The Federal Government needs to realise that its much trumpeted “Transformation Agenda” will not move forward unless hard steps are taken to remove the many cabals, cartels and monopolies that bedevil our system. To prevent a heightening of the incidence of collapsed buildings and failed infrastructure, a lasting solution must be found to cement scarcity.

SPAIN: La industria cementera, fuente alternativa para la gestión de residuos

La industria del cemento se ha convertido en la última década en una herramienta complementaria con la que poder disminuir el número de vertederos existentes en España y mejorar la gestión de residuos, según indica la Fundación Laboral del Cemento y el Medio Ambiente (CEMA).

 

El del cemento, un sector tradicionalmente esquivo con el medioambiente, ha invertido en los últimos diez años más de 1.000 millones de euros en adaptación a nuevas tecnologías, un esfuerzo que según el Director Gerente de CEMA, Dimas Vallina, "está dando sus frutos, a pesar de que todavía hay margen de mejora".

 

En España se devuelven a los vertederos un 52% de los residuos utilizados, según los últimos datos de la Agencia de Estadística de la Unión Europea (Eurostat), "lo que demuestra que estamos enterrando energía", afirma Dimas Vallina.

 

Para la fabricación del cemento, y más concretamente durante el proceso de fundición, son necesarios muchos de los residuos que acaban en basureros y vertederos, lo que hace que este sector haya encontrado la posibilidad de convertirse en una fuente alternativa para la gestión de basuras.

 

"Estamos dejando de llevar al vertedero una cantidad importante de residuos que estamos reciclando dentro de nuestro sector, con lo cual explotamos menos nuestras canteras y obtenemos un beneficio medioambiental", asegura el Director General de la Fundación CEMA.

 

Sirva como ejemplo la iniciativa firmada en 2009 entre Sigrauto (Asociación Española para el Tratamiento Medioambiental de los Vehículos Fuera de Uso) y Oficemen (Agrupación de Fabricantes de Cemento) para utilizar residuos no reciclables procedentes de los vehículos viejos como combustible en varias cementeras españolas.

 

"Estamos valorizando 77 tipos de residuos diferentes, y todos ellos los utilizamos para crear un producto imprescindible para la fabricación de cualquier infraestructura en nuestro país como es el cemento", concreta Dimas.

 

Pero el papel de las cementeras no acaba ahí, el sector sustituye parte de los combustibles habitualmente empleados para crear el clínker (producto primario del que se obtiene el cemento), que es fósil, por combustibles derivados de residuos.

 

En el año 2010, el sector utilizó 608.000 toneladas de combustibles procedentes de residuos, lo que supuso el 16% de la energía consumida por los hornos de clínker, un dato que, sin embargo, se queda corto al lado del 50% de Bélgica o el 61% de Alemania.

 

Vallina asegura que mediante la utilización de los combustibles alternativos, el sector conseguirá mejorar su competitividad a la vez que aprovechará energéticamente parte de la totalidad de residuos que acaban en los vertederos.

 

El Plan Nacional de Asignación de Derechos de CO2 preveía que el sector cementero consiguiera una sustitución de sus combustibles del 20% en 2012.

"Nosotros confiamos llegar el año que viene a esta cifra, pero nuestro objetivo tendría que ser Noruega, que está al 50%", dice Vallina.

 

La fabricación de cementos menos intensivos en la generación de CO2, sustituyendo parcialmente las materias primas como la arcilla o el sílice por residuos minerales de otros sectores industriales que tienen una composición similar, es otra de las apuestas del sector de cara a mejorar su compromiso medioambiental.

 

Esta labor se une a los programas de restauración de canteras, "que tratan de devolver estas zonas a su estado natural previo a las explotaciones", concluye el máximo responsable de la Fundación Laboral del Cemento y el Medio Ambiente.