INDIA: Ultra Tech Cement Ltd. signs MoU for 2 cement plants

Uttarakhand's industrial development department on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understating (MoU) with Ultra Tech Cement Ltd to soon commission two manufacturing plants — at Tyuni town in Dehradun district and Someshwar town in Almora district.
Chief minister Vijay Bahguna said Ultra Tech Cement Ltd will invest Rs 5,000 crore in a phased manner in setting up the cement-manufacturing plants in the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions.

He said the company will commission a cement plant with 3.5 million tonne annual manufacturing capacity at Tyuni near Chakrata, 100 km from Dehradun, and a 2 million tonne annual manufacturing capacity plant at Someshwar. The chief minister said the process to finalize the land to commission the two plants in these two districts is still on.

"The setting up of these two major plants in the field of cement manufacturing, in these two socially and economically backward towns, will considerably help provide jobs to several jobless youths and other residents in these areas, apart from opening venues for other side business," said Bahuguna.

A senior IAS officer in Dehradun said the MoUwas signed between Ultra Tech Cement Ltd director R M Gupta and state additional secretary Rakesh Sharma in New Delhi.

Sharma, head of the state's industrial development department, told reporters the cement manufacturer will have to adhere to all environment-related norms while commissioning the plants. "The objective will be to ensure that the overall environment in the region is kept intact at any cost while setting up these two cement-manufacturing plants," Sharma said.

NIGERIA: NEW HIGH-STRENGHT CEMENT

UNICEM, Nigeria’s third largest cement producer, at the weekend launched its new high-strength cement into the Port Harcourt construction industry, a product said to be deployable for heavy construction works.

According to Vipul Agrawal, the company’s marketing and technical

assistance director, the new product, called “UniCem 42,5N Limestone Portland cement” is produced for specialised heavy construction works like high-rise buildings, long-span bridges, dams, fly-over, and silos.

Agrawal said UniCem went into production of the new cement, based on expectations and needs of customers like the construction companies into roads construction and precast infrastructure.

“We have developed the high strength performance cement (UniCem 45,5N) to take care of 10 percent of our customers needing this quality of cement for infrastructural development in our core market.

“The UniCem 42,5N is a versatile cement with many benefits such as: high and ultimate compressive strength, low heat of hydration (reduced cracking), workability, reduced bleeding, reduced porosity (enhanced strength), improved cohesion, smooth surface finish and has environmental friendliness (less CO2 emission),” he said.

He said for the past eight years, UniCem has produced and sold the UniCem 35,5R Portland Limestone cement; and has now faced a growing demand of high strength performance cement product by construction companies; which prompted a research into the product to meet these set of customers.

The product, which was launched at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, was witnessed by some major construction companies such as: Lubrik, Julius Berger Nigeria, Setraco, Alcon, Lafarge Ready Mix Concrete, Deux Project, Trans Ocean Limited, O.K Isokarari, among others.

Some building and civil engineering experts also said the new cement comes off as UniCem’s positive answer for provision of cement product that would meet a growing advocacy for use of cement-based products in building of motorways and other long-span infrastructures in Nigeria.

The UniCem marketing and technical assistance director told BusinessDay on the sidelines of the product launch that the 42,5N cement combines strength and performance at all ages with enhanced durability and environmental benefits; with a product specification of ‘CEM II/A-L 42,5N Portland limestone cement that conforms to the Nigerian Industrial Standards, NIS 444.1:2003 as equivalent to European Union’s internationally accepted EN 197-1-2000.

He informed that UniCem has a modern state-if-the-art 2.5 million metric tons per capacity integrated cement plant at Mfamosing, Cross River State; and would hit 2 million in production capacity by year-end; with an expansion work to further deliver 5 million metric tons per annum in three years.

IRAN: CEMENT MARKET RISES

The Iranian cement industry’s output stood at 50.25 million t in the first eight months of the current fiscal year (starting 21 March 2013), a 2.2% y/y increase compared with 49.16 million t in 2012.

During the first eight months, clinker output saw a 3.5% increase y/y, reaching 49.26 million t, compared to 47.59 million t in the same period in 2012. Cement and clinker production was reported to have reached 5.65 million t and 5.96 million t, respectively, from 23 October – 21 November. Around 39.83 million t of cement was supplied to the domestic market during the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

Iran is the top producer of cement and has the largest amount of exports in the Middle East, manufacturing 27 types of cement. The country exported cement to 24 different countries over the past fiscal year including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, the UAE, Georgia, Oman, India and China. The outlook for the Iranian cement industry is bright due to the country’s availability of raw materials, a skilled workforce, high quality cement and low prices. The former Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister, Mehdi Ghazanfari, stated in August 2012 that the country's cement production capacity is predicted to reach 110 million tpa by 2015.

DOMINICAN REP.: Venta de cemento experimentó un significativo incremento de un 16 %

La Asociación Dominicana de Productores de Cemento Portland (ADOCEM), destacó con satisfacción el desempeño exhibido por la industria en el año 2013 durante el cual experimentó una interesante evolución que alcanzó aproximadamente 2.9 millones de toneladas vendidas.

"En contraste con las ventas del 2012 esto supone un significativo incremento de alrededor de un 16 % rompiendo con la ruta descendiente que desde el 2007 hemos venimos experimentando", expresó Carlos González, presidente de ADOCEM.

A su juicio, los resultados positivos que refleja el sector responden a varios factores entre los que sobresalen los esfuerzos emprendidos por el Estado Dominicano para dinamizar la economía a través de iniciativas novedosas que inyectan movimiento en todas las regiones del país. Citó como ejemplo el Programa Nacional de Edificaciones Escolares que implica la construcción de 28 mil aulas nuevas, cuyas compras de materiales son efectuadas en las ferreterías locales y a su vez las obras son dirigidas por los ingenieros de cada comunidad.

Las consideraciones de Carlos González, presidente de ADOCEM, fueron expuestas a raíz de encabezar un encuentro-coctel de navidad en honor de su membresía y relacionados, en el transcurso del cual evaluó el desempeño mostrado por la industria del cemento en el cursante año, y delineo las perspectivas del próximo año 2014.

De igual manera, el economista y consultor José Luis De Ramón, abordó de manera ampliada los augurios económicos del panorama nacional para el 2014.

En su intervención, el presidente de ADOCEM señaló como un elemento dinamizador de la demanda local de cemento, la caída de los precios del producto como resultado de un proceso natural de mercado que fruto de un exceso de capacidad productiva como es el caso de República Dominicana; "Nuestra capacidad instalada supera los 6 millones de toneladas, lo que significa un excedente de capacidad cercano al 60 %", indicó.

Añadió que esta situación es poco común y dado el tamaño de nuestra isla hace que seamos el país con mayor capacidad de producción de cemento per cápita de todo el continente americano, por encima de grandes productores como México, Brasil y Colombia.

De igual manera, González citó el caso de la Ley de Desarrollo de Mercado Hipotecario y Fideicomiso, que si bien es conocido que impactará notablemente la construcción, la industria, la minería, el transporte y el comercio, dicha legislación no termina de rendir los frutos esperados, sobre todo en lo relativo a la vivienda social pues existe una especie de "letargo" que impide hacer viable la aplicación de esta ley en el corto plazo.

Manifestó asimismo, el entusiasmo del sector ante el hecho de haber superado la colocación de apenas 15,000 m2 de pavimentos en concreto en el 2012, a aproximadamente unos 150,000 m2 en lo que va de este año. "Sin embargo esperamos dar el gran salto cuando el Ministerio de Obras Públicas (MOPC) decida darle la oportunidad al cemento como alternativa de pavimentación", indicó.
"Como les dije, continuamos siendo optimistas, hoy día estamos en una excelente posición para impulsar y aprovechar el formidable potencial que vemos para el cemento, y por tanto durante todo el 2013 invertimos en impulsar las innumerables cualidades y usos de nuestros productos como lo es, la posible incorporación del concreto en carreteras y del suelo cemento para caminos vecinales, como alternativas de pavimentación", apuntó González.

Finalmente, exhortó a seguir trabajando con igual ahínco en el 2014, a no sólo adaptarse a los escenarios que se presentan sino a "buscarle la vuelta" a las nuevas necesidades de mercado para salir fortalecidos de los doce (12) meses de arduo trabajo que les esperan.



La Asociación Dominicana de Productores de Cemento Portland (ADOCEM), es una iniciativa de las principales empresas productoras de cemento del país: Cemex, Cementos Cibao, Domicem y Argos, quienes han convertido esta institución en un conglomerado de apoyo a la construcción en el país, impulsando los intereses generales de su actividad productiva.

ETHIOPIA: Bank of Ethiopia signs US$33m loan agreement with Habesha Cement to build plant.

The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) has signed a loan agreement with Habesha Cement for US$33m to build a 1.4Mt/yr cement plant at Holeta in Oromia State. Additional loan agreements were also signed in late November 2013 between Habesha, the DBE and the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) Bank, the financial arm of the Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA). The PTA Bank is co-financing the Habesha project by lending US$50m.

According to Addis Fortune, Habesha is now seeking a letter of credit to allow equipment for the cement plant to be imported. Chinese engineering firm Northern Heavy Machinery Industries have been hired to import and erect machinery for US$80m.

Previously the DBE approved a loan for US$83m to cover 70% of the project costs but it withdrew the offer in early 2013. The current DBE loan only covers 30% of the project costs. Other investors, including PPC and South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation (SAIDC) paid US$21m for nearly half of Habesha Cement in 2012. The plant was originally scheduled to start production by 2012.

POLAND: CEMENT OUTPUT RISES

Poland reported a double-digit rise in cement production during November 2013. However, cement sales slipped marginally during the month.

November cement output totalled 1.291Mt, up by 13.1 per cent YoY, according to the country’s cement association, SPC. Cement sales, meanwhile, fell by 2.2 per cent to 1.204Mt. 

For the 11 months to November 2013, cement output declined by 9.5 per cent to 13.606Mt, while sales dropped by 10.5 per cent to 13.867Mt.

SAUDI ARABIA: Cement sales down 17% to 3.65m tons in November

Sales of cement companies dropped by 17 percent in November 2013 to 3.65 million tons compared to 4.37 million tons in the same period in 2012, local media said quoting a report.

The sales drop was attributed to the correction campaigns and raids recently carried out against irregular foreign workers following the expiration of amnesty period on Nov. 3, experts said.

Sales of all cement companies fell during November with the exception of three companies, namely Northern Province Cement Company (NPCC), Arabian Cement Company (ACC) and Madinah Cement Company (MCC) whose sales increased by 58 percent, 24 percent and 20 percent, respectively, the report, based on data 
released by Yamamah Cement Company (YCC), said.

Riyadh Cement Company (RCC) and Jouf Cement Company (JCC) posted the biggest drop in November at 45 percent and 44 percent, respectively, the report said. Likewise, sales of Saudi Cement Company (SCC) and YCC contracted by 21 percent and 32 percent, respectively, according to the report.

Regarding clinker, the 15 working cement companies produced 4.75 million tons in November compared to 4.35 million tons in the same period last year, or an increase of 9.19 percent, the report said.

Earlier, a YCC report said cement sales rose by 2 percent to 4.19 million tons in October 2013 compared to 4.13 million tons in October 2012.

Additionally, the volume of cement produced by Saudi cement companies reached 4.23 million tons against 4.22 million tons in the comparable periods.

For clinker production, it soared by 19 percent in October 2013 to reach 4.74 million tons compared to 3.98 million tons in October 2012.

INDIA: CEMENT DEMAND IMPROVES.

After a period of slowdown, demand for cement is expected to pick up mainly because of the increase in

Government spends in the infrastructure sector, a survey by ICICI Securities has found.

The demand for the key construction material has improved in states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, while its prices have increased by Rs 30-40 per bag in the past two months, the leading brokerage said in a statement here today. 

Others like Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal and Karnataka are showing initial signs of demand improvement, while requirement in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu is likely to remain weak, it said. 

"We continue to maintain our positive stance on the sector and expect demand to pick up on the back of healthy rural housing demand due to a good monsoon, gradual pick up in Government infrastructure spends and low base of the past year," the financial services firm said. 

In November, cement despatches grew by around 3-4 per cent year-on-year while they declined by 7-8 per cent on month -on-month basis to around 18.5 MT, impacted by sand mining ban in Rajasthan (partially lifted on Nov 26), cyclones in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi and festive season, it said. 

The year-to-date demand growth in FY14 is likely to be at 3-4 per cent YoY led by east  and  and central regions, where expansion is expected to be 6-8 per cent. North region has likely grown by 2-3 per cent, while west and south are expected to have broadly flat demand. 

Cement prices have been hiked by Rs 10-15 a bag (50kg) in north, central and west regions effective December 2, while they were broadly flat in south and east. On an average pan- India prices increased by 1-2 per cent MoM, while remained flat YoY to Rs 284 a bag in November. 

PERU: Despachos de cemento crecieron 8.23% a octubre

Los despachos de cemento en el mercado peruano sumaron ocho millones 512,252 toneladas métricas (TM) de enero a octubre del presente año, 8.23 por ciento más respecto a lo registrado en el mismo período del 2012 (siete millones 864,701 TM), informó hoy la Asociación de Productores de Cemento (Asocem).

Durante el mencionado período, la producción de cemento fue de ocho millones 677,915 TM, lo que representó un alza de 7.80 por ciento en relación con el mismo período del 2012, cuando sumó ocho millones 49,674 TM.

A octubre las exportaciones llegaron a 159,190 TM de cemento, reportando un incremento de 9.73 por ciento respecto al mismo período de 2012, cuando fueron de 145,074 TM.

En ese sentido, los despachos totales de cemento (mercado nacional más exportación) sumaron ocho millones 671,443 TM en diez meses del año, cifra que muestra un aumento de 8.26 por ciento sobre similar período del 2012, cuando sumaron ocho  millones 9,775 TM.

La información recogida por Asocem es proporcionada por las empresas Cemento Andino, Cementos Lima, Cementos Pacasmayo, Cementos Yura, Cementos Selva y Cementos Sur.

El analista senior de Scotiabank, Pablo Nano, comentó que el crecimiento de los despachos de cemento en octubre refleja la recuperación de las inversiones del sector público y privado.

Indicó que esa recuperación fue impulsada por una mayor construcción de viviendas y oficinas, además de la ejecución de obras de infraestructura, por parte de los gobiernos regionales.  

"El deterioro de las expectativas empresariales ante la incertidumbre sobre el crecimiento de la economía a nivel mundial, afectó al sector construcción en setiembre, pero en octubre ya se está observando un mayor dinamismo", señaló a la agencia Andina.

En ese sentido, previó que en los próximos meses se mantendrá el ritmo de crecimiento de los despachos de cemento y que el sector construcción crecerá más de cinco por ciento en octubre.

Proyectó que sector construcción cerraría el año con un crecimiento de alrededor de diez por ciento, impulsado por el rubro inmobiliarios, especialmente por la construcción de oficinas y viviendas.

KENYA: First CEO. Savannah Cement

Savannah Cement has appointed its first Chief Executive Officer as the firm seeks a larger share of the Sh100billion market.

Commissioned in July last year as Kenya's sixth cement manufacturer, Savannah Cement has been operating without a substantive CEO, whilst undertaking an extensive headhunt for a preferred business leader and has now tapped the services of Ronald Ndegwa to drive the business.

Speaking when he confirmed the new developments at the Sh8 billion manufacturing facility, Savannah Cement Board Chairman, Benson Ndeta, disclosed that Ndegwa who previously served as the Director of Supply Chain at Tata Chemicals Magadi (Magadi Soda) has joined the firm with a clear brief to spearhead the business development agenda.

Savannah Cement, he disclosed, is the only plant in the entire region that uses Roller Press technology to ensure energy efficiency and sustainability.

The emission free facility is designed to deliver world-class quality products while ensuring respect for the Environment.

A Civil Engineering graduate of the University of Nairobi and South Africa's Damelin Management School, Ndegwa, joins Savannah Cement with a firm brief to drive an ambitious business expansion strategy for the firm currently operating a state of the art, eco-friendly cement grinding plant with a capacity of 1.5 million tons a year.

"By retaining Ndegwa; a seasoned manufacturing and business management professional, Savannah Cement is making a bold statement that we intend to play a very key role in Kenya's and indeed East Africa's development agenda," Ndeta said.

And added: "As a Board, we are actively moving to align and raise our human resource base to match global benchmarks based on the conviction that the East African region has great growth potential and that is why we want to place our company on the world map as a major cement producer in the region."

Prior to joining Tata Chemicals Magadi, Ndegwa had previously served at senior management positions with East African Breweries Limited and Caltex Oil Kenya.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Leading Economic Indicators for October 2013, the quantity of cement produced went up from 407,074 MT in August 2013 to 414,807 MT in September 2013.

Last year, Cement production closed at an all time high of 4,639,723 metric tonnes up from 4,478,428 Metric tonnes recorded the previous year (2011) while consumption grew from 3,870,930 to 3,937,263 metric tonnes last year.