Wednesday, October 15, 2014

EGYPT: Armed forces constructing new cement production line

The armed forces’ Al-Arish cement factory is constructing a new cement production line to be completed by the end of 2015, head of the construction materials department at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce Ahmed El-Zeiny said on Tuesday.

“This is an attempt to fight the monopoly imposed by foreign cement facilities that sell cement at higher prices than the international standards,” El-Zeiny said. “Cement companies sell the tonne of cement for some EGP 450, $40 higher than the international price”.

The price for a tonne of cement produced by Al-Arish Cement factory is sold for EGP 550, El-Zeiny noted.

After its completion, the production line will help bring the quantity of cement produced to 7m tonnes per year from 3.5m tonnes per year.

“In two years, the facility has registered over EGP 1bn in revenues,” El-Zeiny added, explaining that the factory’s production is planned six months in advance.

El-Zeiny stated that constructing the production line will probably cost between EGP 700m and EGP 800m.

El-Zeiny said that cement prices have increased by 50% during the past three years. He stated that this led to a 10% to 20% increase in the prices of properties.

ROMANIA: Cement producer Holcim Romania hopes for market recovery on new infrastructure projects in 2015

The Romanian cement market is likely to go down this year again, after dropping to 7 million tons in 2013, but 2015 will be the year when large infrastructure projects will be decided, saidFrançois Pétry, general manager of Holcim Romania.

Infrastructure projects generated about 40% of the EUR 202 million turnover posted by Holcim in 2013, but this weight should drop below 40% this year as the company’s sales are expected to stay the same.

The lack of infrastructure projects was compensated by other projects, such as New Europe Property Investments’ Mega Mall, or the Bucharest One office tower, for which Holcim delivers cement.

Pétry expects a return to profitability for Holcim Romania this year, after a loss of EUR 1.4 mln in 2013.

The company is part of Swiss group Holcim, one of the largest cement producers in the world. Holcim owns two cement plants in Campulung and Alesd, a grinding station and a cement terminal in Turda, 13 ecological ready-mix plants, 3 aggregates plants, 2 special binders plants and a cement terminal in Bucharest, and employs around 950 people.

Holcim group is currently undergoing a merger process with Lafarge. The new group will keep Holcim’s assets in Romania, but will sell Lafarge’s assets.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

AFRICA: Is Cement The Next Hot Industry?

With infrastructure and urban growth accelerating across Africa, the usefulness of a humble building material like cement cannot be underestimated.

A recent $300 million investment by sovereign fund Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) into Nigeria’s largest publicly-traded company, Dangote Cement, underscores the sector’s growing importance on the continent.

“The average cement consumption in most of the region is currently low, and the process of catching up to international averages will facilitate future industry growth,” said Tom Harris, industrial automation and process control research analyst with Frost & Sullivan Africa, in an email.

Between population growth, urbanization, housing development, and rising political stability, the firm expects cement consumption “to grow at a multiple of GDP over the next five to ten years.”

“The new stakes that have been taken up [in Dangote]… we see it as a good vote of confidence generally for infrastructure in Africa and particularly Sub-Saharan Africa,” says Thabo Ncalo, portfolio manager of the STANLIB Africa Equity Fund. The fund holds shares Dangote.

According to a July Ecobank report, Dangote’s strategy is “to establish itself in Africa’s underdeveloped markets before its multinational rivals… in order to capture high cement prices before a potential glut sets in.”

The company already has a 62 percent market share in Nigeria, with plans to aggressively expand capacity across the continent. The firm’s aim, according to the report, is to add “55 million metric tons per year of integrated grinding and import capacity in 14 countries.” 

“The incredible thing about Dangote, certainly when it comes to cement, is that they’re incredibly bullish,” says Edward George, head of group research at Ecobank. The firm has been investing heavily in expanding capacity. “It’s very much a leap of faith that they’ve taken… but so far they’ve been very successful.”

Part of the reason is the immense need for building materials across the continent. “All across Sub-Saharan Africa you’ve got massive shortages of infrastructure, all the way from roads and bridges to airports, ports, and what have you that governments need to build. In addition to that you’ve got a massive housing deficiency as well,” says Ncalo.

Dangote is certainly a force in meeting that demand.

“It’s a state within a state,” says George. Between heavy investments in infrastructure, like power generation and roads, and the company’s sheer size (it is larger than the next five biggest Nigerian companies combined), Dangote is gearing up to take on established giants in other regions, like French/Swiss firm Lafarge/Holcim, dominant in Eastern and Southern Africa, and the German Heidelberg, which has greater presence in Western and Central Africa.

These ambitions reflect the growing competitiveness in the industry. With an immense amount of potential demand and the importance of scale in meeting it, consolidation is accelerating and the pressures to outmaneuver rivals are rising.

Growing Demand

“We recently conducted an analysis of the East African cement industry and found this market to be characterized by significant increases in competition,” Harris says. It’s not just in East Africa. Ncalo says that other major firms “have to pool resources or go out and invest across the continent to match what they’re seeing happening with Dangote Cement.”

“You’ll see a lot more consolidation because [other manufacturers] are realizing they need to have that scale to be able to compete.” In other words, companies must aggressively take advantage of economies of scale in order to reduce costs and maximize their distribution capabilities.

This makes Dangote’s heavy investments in what can essentially be described as its own infrastructure and distribution more notable. It also reflects some of the major challenges facing the industry.

“There is one big issue,” says George, “And it’s energy.”

With energy infrastructure insufficient and unreliable in many areas, Dangote is an example of a company that has taken matters into its own hands. “Most of the cement sector currently operates using gas, because it is (or should be) the cheapest form of power. But the distribution of gas in Nigeria is poor… They’re building their own pipelines from different gas fields so that they can be sure to get their own gas. They’re also converting their facilities to also use coal.”

“It’s a state within a state emerging: their own reserves, their own power generation,” George says.

The strategy could be a source not only of stability but of competitive advantage. Ncalo notes that Dangote’s plants will, as a result of their investments, become “dual power,” meaning the firm can switch between sources “depending on supply and depending on the price of each commodity, which will make them more competitive going forward.”

Another important issue hinges on transport.

“Distribution within Africa is still challenging and expensive,” says Harris. “There is a distinct lack of the critical transport infrastructure required to facilitate economic expansion.”

Cement is cheap, but it is heavy, and “the more you move [it] around the higher the price to the end user,” says Ncalo. “Getting product across borders in Africa takes a lot longer and is probably more expensive than most places in the world.” And the problem doesn’t just lie across borders, but even within nations. 

That means that locating plants and minimizing transport costs are a critical part of the equation for any firm wishing to compete. “Our preference would be for cement companies to roll out as close as possible to markets” to reduce costs, Ncalo says. “We believe the key strategy is to find the limestone deposits and produce nearby, which is cheaper, and to sell to the market nearby.”

After all, he says, “the bottlenecks across the borders in Africa will still be a problem for a while.”

Finally, there is the issue of imports.

Many countries continue to import cement from producers in Asia, such as Pakistan. But Nigeria has seen a sea change in its cement industry after banning cement imports. “If you look back four years [Nigeria] was the largest importer of cement in Africa, and it’s now a net exporter. They’ve been very successful at promoting export in the country,” according to George.

African-produced cement

Will other nations favor African-produced cement or will the industry continue to face competition from abroad?

“A lot more countries across Africa want to allow the local cement industry to flourish,” says Ncalo. “You’ll probably see a lot more protectionist policies across Africa.” Regional production and more convenient transport could also improve local competitiveness. “As you see more cement production in Africa you’ll see that limits importation,” he says.

After all, he notes, production costs drop once ready access to limestone (the key raw material in cement) is established and transportation costs are reduced.

On top of the analytics, the big picture statistics loom large. Quite simply, Africa needs to build, and to build it needs cement. Ecobank points out that even in Nigeria, the continent’s largest cement consumer, demand currently sits at 278 pounds per capita, compared to a world average of 1,102 pounds per capita.

Headwinds notwithstanding, for the continent’s major cement producers, including rising star Dangote, numbers like these can only herald opportunity.

OMAN: Oman Cement Q3 Net Profit Drops 39.5%

Oman Cement reported a third-quarter net profit that dropped 39.5 per cent from the same period last year, according to Reuters calculations, missing the average forecast of analysts.

One of the sultanate’s largest cement producers made a net profit after tax of OMR2.3 million ($6.0 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with OMR3.8 million in the corresponding period of 2013, Reuters calculated based on financial statements.

Three analysts polled by Reuters had expected the firm on average to make a net profit of OMR4.06 million.

Oman Cement made a net profit of OMR11.4 million in the first nine months of 2014, down from OMR12.4 million in the same period last year, it said in a bourse statement on Tuesday.

Monday, October 13, 2014

GHANA: We slashed cement price to fulfill promise to Ghanaians

Strategy and Corporate Affairs Director of Ghacem, Dr. George Dawson-Ahmoah, has explained that the company reduced cement prices in fulfillment of its pledge to act positively when the cedi gains strength against major international currencies.

He explained that Ghacem fulfilled the pledge to Ghanaians because the cement producer was a good corporate citizen

Dr. Dawson-Ahmoah noted the recent appreciation of the cedi has resulted in a marginal reduction of the company’s production cost.

Dr. Dawson-Ahmoah announced the company’s ex-factory price of cement has been reduced from Gh¢30.55 to Gh¢27.965, stressing the company will not hesitate to further reduce the price should the cedis' appreciation hold.

He commended government for working to salvage the free fall of the cedi and urged managers of the economy to do more to safeguard the welfare of Ghanaians.

Ghacem he said imports about 80 percent of its raw materials for production of cement hence the recent depreciation of the Cedi really affected production cost and the company had no option than to increase prices.

Dr. Dawson-Ahmoah, who doubles as the Chairman of the made in Ghana Campaign of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) stressed that Ghacem will continuously patronize the use of local limestone for the production of cement and will continuously search for the availability of local limestone concession in order to add value to local production.

ZAMBIA: Dangote Cement sues Zambian minister over corruption allegations

Dangote Cement’s Zambian subsidiary has sued the country’s labour minister for libel and slander after he accused an executive of the Nigerian company of attempting to bribe him.

A row has been brewing between Zambia and Dangote Cement, a major employer in Africa’s second-largest copper producer, after the government minister made the allegations in September.

Dangote said in papers filed in court that the minister had created an impression that the company was exploiting Zambian workers and enticing government officials with bribes.

"The plaintiff has been brought into public scandal and its reputation has been injured," Dangote said in a writ of summons dated October 10.

The dispute appears to be the latest in a string of incidents in which the southern African nation’s government has resorted to strong-arm or unorthodox tactics against foreign investors it believes are circumventing labour laws.

Dangote Industries Zambia has 400 workers building a $400m cement plant, a staff count that should rise to 2,000 when production starts in November.

During a tour of the plant in Ndola, 300km north of the capital Lusaka, Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda said a Nigerian executive seconded to the Zambian unit tried to bribe him at a hotel.

The company described the allegations as "malicious misinformation" and denied the corruption and bribery claims.

A year ago, Zambia revoked the work permit of the CE of Konkola Copper Mines, owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources, and threatened to rip up its mining licence when the firm announced plans to lay off 1,500 workers.

RUSSIA: Arkhangelsk cement producer survives layoffs

The destiny of the only on the White Sea coast cement plant is of public concern in the settlement Savinskiy (Arkhangelsk Region).

Savinskiy Cement Plant is the largest cement producer in northern Russia. The plant was built in 1966 to supply the region with best quality cement used for monolithic and precast concrete manufacturing in residential and industrial construction business. Now it is on the verge of closing. The main production was stopped in early September. Of more than 500 workers, half have been dismissed, and those left are transferred to a shorter working day.

The company's management explain their actions by the need for a general reconstruction, but local residents fear that the plant will be simply disassembled and junked. They sent an open letter to the federal and regional authorities, in which they expressed their concern about the fate of Savinskiy Cement Plant. The appeal to President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Minister of Emergency Situations Vladimir Puchkov, Governor Igor Orlov, Speaker of the Regional Assembly Victor Novozhilov, as well as the heads of district administration and the municipality Savinskiy, reads partly as follows.

"The residents ask for your help in resolving this situation: to prevent the elimination of the only cement plant in the Arkhangelsk region, to save the municipality Savinskiy and ensure the livelihoods of its people. Savinskiy is the place of residence for about 10,000 people. In the settlement there are two kindergartens for 500 children, a comprehensive school for 845 children, a correctional school of regional importance, a professional school for 134 people, the hospital of district significance, the house of temporary stay for 40 elderly persons, and other objects of social and cultural needs.

We, the residents of the settlement Savinskiy, are well aware that the closing of the plant will lead to problems of life support for the settlement and its very existence. At a meeting with civil society organizations of Savinskiy, the factory management did not inform the public about the future of the plant: whether it would be the upgrading or the liquidation. […] Judging from the current situation, the plant is being prepared not to modernization, but to elimination, which will result in massive unemployment, impoverishment of the population, and an increase in crime."

Ernest Belokorovin, the Chairman of the Arkhangelsk Oblast Deputy Council's Committee on the Industrial Policy, Transport, Communications and Environment, says. "I believe it is necessary as soon as possible to begin negotiations between the regional authorities and the owner of the plant. Now the company dismantles the equipment ant takes it somewhere, carries out the staff reduction — all this is very disturbing and may lead to losing another enterprise important for the region, and, accordingly, to the reduction in jobs and tax revenues to the budget."

The local administration reports no acute social tensions over the workforce layoffs in the settlement. So far.

NORWAY: Norwegian Factory Aims to Solve Cement’s Carbon Problem

A Norwegian cement factory has shown that it’s able to capture much of its own carbon dioxide. If the approach were to become widespread, it could have a significant impact, since cement production is responsible for more than 5 percent of all man-made carbon dioxide emissions.

The Norcem Brevik cement works, tucked into a scenic harbor south of Oslo, has used waste heat to drive a process called amine scrubbing that, at test scales, removed between 30 and 40 percent of the total emissions from the plant’s flue gases.

“We think we are the first project that is testing technology in real cement-plant conditions,” said Liv-Margrethe Bjerge, project manager for the test at Norcem, which owns the Brevik plant. “It’s the only cement project doing post-combustion capture.”

Bjerge spoke in Austin, Texas, at the largest international conference on carbon capture and sequestration technologies.

The plant expects to begin full-scale operation with carbon capture next summer. It could serve as a model for many plants in Europe and around the world, she said. The company is demonstrating only carbon capture right now. Ultimately the carbon dioxide would probably get shipped to an offshore well for injection, which is the method available in Norway.

The plant is testing a few different technologies. In the one that’s yielded results so far, chemicals called amines pick up carbon dioxide and then release it when heated. Results are still pending for two other methods, Bjerge said. In one, calcium oxide combines with carbon dioxide to form calcium carbonate. The other uses membranes to capture the carbon dioxide.

While these carbon-capture processes have previously been tested in power plants, cement plants differ because their emissions include much higher concentrations of carbon dioxide, plus more dust and other contaminants.

Some more far-out ideas for capturing carbon from cement making include using concentrated sunlight to drive the production process (see “New Cement-Making Method Could Slash Carbon Emissions”). And some groups are working on adding materials to concrete that can later absorb carbon dioxide (see “TR10: Green Concrete”). In the United States, a startup called Skyonic is running a pilot plant at a cement mill to reuse carbon dioxide in sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda.

MOROCCO: Fusion Holcim-Lafarge, Le verdict pour les filiales marocaines attendu le 18 octobre

Les filiales marocaines de Lafarge et Holcim seront fixées sur leur sort dans une semaine. Dans la foulée du projet de fusion entre leur maison mère, les deux cimentiers affirment avoir déposé le dossier auprès de la Primature le 18 août dernier. «La Primature doit se prononcer le 18 octobre sur le projet de fusion. Elle a deux options, soit valider le projet et dans ce cas nous enclencherons le processus de fusion, soit le transférer au Conseil de la concurrence qui disposera de 4 mois pour trancher», précise Dominique Drouet, président du directoire de Holcim Maroc lors d’un point de presse le 9 octobre à Casablanca consacré à la présentation des résultats semestriels.La fusion impliquera-t-elle une restructuration de l’activité des deux groupes au Maroc ? «Aujourd’hui, nous sommes toujours en phase préparatoire de la fusion. Nous ne pouvons donc pas nous prononcer sur la réorganisation potentielle des deux groupes après le processus de fusion. Il faut savoir aussi qu’au regard de la loi sur la concurrence, nous ne pouvons pour le moment entamer des négociations de quelque nature que ce soit avec notre concurrent sur la restructuration potentielle», réplique Christophe Siraudin, directeur administratif et financier de Holcim Maroc.

Notons que la réalisation de la fusion Holcim Maroc avec ses filiales Holcim Bétons et Holcim Granulats s’est traduite par une transmission universelle du patrimoine de la société Holcim Bétons au profit de Holcim Maroc. Dans le détail, il s’agit d’un montant total d’actifs évalué à plus de 237,6 millions dirhams, en plus de 228 millions de passif et une valeur d’actif net de pas moins de 9,144 millions. L’opération aura généré une prime de fusion estimée à plus de 5,6 millions de dirhams.

Sur un marché du ciment en recul de 4,4% au premier semestre 2014, les volumes de ventes du groupe affichent une progression de 1,8%. À fin juin dernier, le cimentier a pu engranger un résultat net consolidé de 324,3 millions de dirhams, en hausse de 20% sur un an pour un chiffre d'affaires de 1,742 milliard (+9,2%). «L’exercice semestriel a été marqué par une montée en puissance progressive de notre force de vente grâce au programme d’excellence commerciale que nous avons mis en place. Nous avons poursuivi par ailleurs nos efforts pour réduire nos coûts», indique le président du directoire.

Les projections du top management quant à la croissance du marché du ciment sur les trois prochaines années font état d’un atterrissage en douceur des volumes consommés. À en croire Dominique Drouet, le marché va poursuivre sa baisse pour retrouver son niveau normal et donc résorber la bulle spéculative de 2011, estimée à 3 millions de tonnes. Concrètement, les prévisions de Holcim tablent sur une consommation de 14,2 millions de tonnes cette année, 14 millions en 2015 et de 13,7 millions en 2016 et 2017. Au regard de ces prévisions, le groupe ne compte pas investir dans de nouvelles capacités de production dans les trois prochaines années. «Rien ne justifie un investissement en capacité. Car en plus du fait que la demande continuera de baisser, le marché marocain est en surcapacité avec 21 millions de tonnes pour une demande qui ne dépassera pas les 14,3 millions cette année», nous confie Christophe Siraudin. Le groupe souligne enfin la stabilité de son activité béton par rapport à l’année précédente et la baisse des volumes de ventes pour les granulats due à l’arrêt de sa carrière de Skhirate.

KENYA: Cement maker lines up new investments

Savannah Cement, one of the country’s newest market entrants, is set to build two new plants as it nears exhaustion of its current capacity, managing director Ronald Ndegwa said.

He said the cement maker will invest between $250 million (Sh22.31 billion) and $350 billion (Sh31.23 billion) for a clinker plant and a second mill to support its existing operations.

“We see ourselves running out of headroom in two to three years at our current mill, hence the new investment. The clinkerisation plant will help use local limestone to make our clinker,” he said in an interview.

Ndegwa said its facilities are emission-free and dust-free, with a small carbon footprint.

PARAGUAY: INC anuncia paro del horno, pero dice que no afectará la provisión de cemento

El presidente de la Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC), Jorge Méndez, anunció ayer que desde el próximo lunes habrá una parada del horno de Vallemí, a fin de proceder al cambio de refractarios. Aclaró que este paro no afectará la entrega de cemento que estiman se mantendrá en un promedio de 45.000 a 50.000 bolsas por día.

Explicó que este paro estaba planificado. “Estábamos operando al máximo y vimos que los refractarios ya estaban al límite de cinco centímetros. Entonces, esto es una parada programada desde el lunes para entrar y hacer los cambios”, dijo.

Estimó que la tarea de refacción demandaría entre dos y tres semanas, pero esperan que puedan hacerlo en el menor tiempo posible para reiniciar la producción.

Méndez indicó que tienen stock suficiente de clínker para mantener la provisión diaria de cemento durante 45 días.

“Hay más de 50.000 toneladas de clínker. Con esto queremos dar la tranquilidad a los clientes de que vamos a mantener la entrega del producto”, enfatizó.

Añadió que esta será la última parada del horno en el año y que ya tienen todos los insumos y preparada la mano de obra para hacer las refacciones.

DEMANDA. El titular de la cementera estatal señaló que este año tuvieron alta demanda del producto, debido a que el consumo fue mayor.

En este contexto, señaló que están previendo la importación de 60.000 toneladas de clínker, a fin de garantizar que no falte cemento.

Apuntó que decidieron que es mejor tener suficiente materia prima de stock que junto al existente en Vallemí y lo que se producirá en lo que resta del año ya tendrían reserva como para unos 120 días.

Por otra parte, Méndez refirió que la próxima semana estarían firmando con el Ministerio de Hacienda el convenio para el desembolso de los 67 millones de dólares de los bonos soberanos que serán invertidos en la modernización de la planta de producción de la INC.

INDONESIA: Cement Sales in Indonesia Rise on Infrastructure and Property Projects

Cement sales in Indonesia surged 21 percent month-to-month (m/m) to 5.6 million ton in September 2014 from 4.6 million ton in the preceding month. Widodo Santoso, Chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI), said that the increase in Indonesian cement sales was supported by the start of a number of central and regional government infrastructure projects. Santoso also detected an increase in development of property projects. Infrastructure and property are the sectors that absorb most cement.

Santoso added that there has been an increase in both infrastructure and property projects after Joko Widodo won the 2014 presidential election.

As usual, most cement was absorbed by the island of Java. In September 2014 a total of 3.26 million tons of cement was sold on Java (a 4.2 percentage point growth from the same month last year). On Sumatra 1.18 million tons of cement was sold (a 12.3 percentage point growth from the same month last year). The only island or region that showed a steep decline in cement demand was Bali. This decline was caused by the recent completion of the new Bali Toll Road.

ASI expects that total cement sales in Indonesia will grow about five percent (y/y) to 61 million tons in 2014.

The dominant market leader in Indonesia’s cement industry is Semen Indonesia which controls a 44 percent market share, followed by Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa (30.2 percent), and Holcim Indonesia (14.6 percent).

Due to various government infrastructure projects that are ready to start (for example the Giant Sea Wall project in Jakarta), cement consumption is expected to grow further in the years ahead. However, due to the relatively high benchmark interest rate of Bank Indonesia (7.50 percent), growth in the country's property sector has somewhat slowed.

CANADA: Cimenterie de Port-Daniel : des sénateurs américains veulent une enquête

Dans une lettre publiée jeudi, ils souhaitent que l'enquête se penche sur le demi-milliard de dollars en « subventions potentiellement injustes » que pourrait octroyer Québec à ce projet.

Ils notent que l'usine de Port-Daniel-Gascons devra conquérir le marché du nord-est des États-Unis pour assurer son avenir. Selon les deux sénateurs, cela pourrait se traduire par l'arrivée massive de ciment « injustement subventionné » dans le marché américain.

Les sénateurs craignent que cela provoque une « distorsion » du marché aux États-Unis et demandent donc au représentant commercial d'intervenir.

Plus tôt cette semaine, la Chambre des représentants de la Pennsylvanie a aussi adopté une résolution demandant une enquête sur la future cimenterie québécoise.

Conformité aux normes de l'OMC

Charles Schumer et Kirsten Gillibrand souhaitent que Wahsington analyse les « détails » des investissements réalisés par Québec pour vérifier si ces ententes ne contreviennent pas aux normes de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC).d

Le vice-président de l'ACC pour le Québec et l'Atlantique, Michel Binette, estime que ce début d'escalade n'augure rien de bon. Il craint l'imposition éventuelle de droits compensateurs. « Ce ne serait pas une décision qui s'appliquerait uniquement à la future cimenterie de Port-Daniel, mais c'est une décision qui va s'appliquer pour toutes les cimenteries au Canada », pense-t-il.L'Association canadienne du ciment (ACC) a réagi prudemment à cette nouvelle demande de politiciens américains. L'ACC a largement critiqué l'intervention de Québec dans le dossier de Ciment McKinnis dans le passé, prétextant que cette nouvelle usine allait encombrer un marché québécois prétendument saturé.

Nous n'avons pas pu obtenir de réaction du ministre responsable du dossier, Jacques Daoust. Ce dernier avait, dans un premier temps, exprimé de sérieux doutes sur le projet, avant de donner son feu vert au printemps dernier, et ce, après avoir obtenu des garanties supplémentaires des investisseurs partenaires dans le projet.