Cement News tagged: International
India: Positive outlook for growth, but challenges remain
Cement consumption in India doubled between 2005 and 2015, but still lags behind China’s at a comparable stage of development. In 2001, the World Bank calculations put China’s GDP per capita at US$1212 in inflation-adjusted terms. Using the same methodology, India’s current GDP per capita is slightly higher than China’s was then: in 2014, India’s GDP per capita reached US$1234. Do these fig...
58th IEEE-IAS/PCA meeting sets US scene
The 58th IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference started its first full day of tutorial presentations on Tuesday at the Gaylord Texas Resort Centre, Grapevine, USA. The event attracted more than 950 delegates from 29 countries with a supporting international exhibition of 176 booths. Scott Nielson, conference committee chair, underlined the importance of the cement industry in Texas...
Pakistan prepares for positive future
The outlook for the Pakistan cement industry is positive with expansion expected over the next few years. Key reasons include improved sector fundamentals backed by higher demand, cost efficiencies driven by lower international coal prices and captive power generation reducing energy costs, capacity expansions and low to minimal risk of cement price destabilisation. As a result, cement demand ...
Indonesia: cement sales to April up 4.2% YoY
Cement sales in Indonesia reached 19.3Mt in the four months from January to April 2016, reports Indonesia Investments. This represents a 4.2 per cent increase on the same period in 2015. Rising supply from new entrants to the market has driven most of the consumption growth. Of the three biggest incumbents – Semen Indonesia, Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa and Holcim Indonesia – only the first ...
Peru: cement market expands 1.8% YoY in April
Peru’s cement demand increased 1.8 per cent YoY in April to 781,000t, according to the country’s cement association, Asocem. This reversed the previous month’s fall of 1.4 per cent. Cement output in April expanded by 7.5 per cent YoY to 831,000t. Some 29,000t of this volume was exported, reflecting an eight per cent decrease when compared with April 2015. In addition, 23,000t of clinker was...
Armenia: Hrazdan exempt from fines
The Armenian government has been successful in pushing through a bill exempting Hrazdan cement plant from fines, accumulated by its failure to pay taxes and other mandatory payments. Artsvik Minasyan, economy minister, argued that the bill would both create a competitive field and have a positive impact on economic activity in the region. He said the reactivation of the idle plant will save ...
Angola: sales in decline
Sales figures for the Angolan cement market are in decline. The market is down 35 per cent YoY in 2016. With sales figures for 2014 and 2015 being 5.9Mt and 5.2Mt, respectively, the Angolan Cement Association has forecast 2016 sales at a mere 3.8Mt if the current oil price remains unchanged. As reported in The Global Cement Report (11th Edition), an effect on the growth was expected follow...
Russia: new cement plant for Dagestan
Azerbaijani investors will build a 1.8Mta cement works, Dagestan Cement Plant, and a 30ha Trade and Logistics Centre between Makhachkala and Kaspiysk, according to Ramadan Abdulatipov, head of the Republic of Dagestan of the Russian Federation following his visit to Baku. The Dagestan coast of the Caspian Sea is earmarked as an area for high-quality tourist infrastructure and Azerbaijani inv...
Israel complaint over Egyptian circumvention of Gaza cement ban
The Israeli government has filed an official complaint with its counterpart in Cairo after Egypt permitted the import of cement into Gaza, reports the Middle East Monitor. News services report that this has provoked considerable anger within the Israeli security establishment, who view the Egyptian move as running counter to its efforts at collaboration with the Palestinian Authority. They ...
Zimbabwe: firms face closure
Due to an influx of cheap imported products in Zimbabwe, local cement producers have warned of a possible scaling down of operations and closures, saying protectionist measures are needed to save the industry. In a recent position paper presented to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce by the Cement and Concrete Institute of Zimbabwe, local cement manufacturers have called for the governm...
India: Adilabad cement plant could reopen
A closed cement factory at Adilabad will be the discussion of a possible reopening as Union Heavy Industry Minister Anant Geete is set to hold a meeting with officials of the Telangana government and the Cement Corporation of India (CCI). The meeting is expected be held in June at Hyderabad or New Delhi as per the assurance given by the Minister on Thursday to a team comprising the Telangana...
Tunisia: petcoke shortage risks near-doubling cement price
Tunisia’s Industry Ministry is looking into to alternatives to alleviate the petcoke shortage in the country. Importing petcoke is proving to be difficult as El Fouledh port, temporarily tasked with importing the fuel, is not able to receive the ships and volumes required for the cement industry. At present, works at the port of Ciment de Bizerte prevent petcoke imports at that location. The...
New standard for alkali-activated cements
With the European market proving a barrier to Lucideon Ltd seeing its technology for alkali-activated cements entering the construction sector it has devised a new standard that will reduce raw material costs. For several years Lucideon has been developing a proprietary and sustainable technology called MIDAR to create bonds for alkali-activated cements. MIDAR is a technology that uses a chem...
Austrian cement demand up 4% in 2015
The Austrian cement market expanded by four per cent to 4.6Mt in 2015 and generated a turnover of EUR388m. Exports rose 15 per cent to 446,000t while imports fell 11 per cent to 832,600t. The gains in the domestic market were achieved despite difficult conditions. Although housing construction increased early on in the year, by mid-2015 this growth had come to a halt. Housing completions rea...
FLSmidth and GE to make cloud data platform
FLSmidth and GE will create digital solutions together to increase productivity in the cement and minerals industries. The new solutions developed on GE's cloud-based Predix platform will use FLSmidth's expertise in cement and minerals processing and GE's Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) capabilities to maximise the potential of connected equipment units and to increase productivity. Th...
Belgium: cement consumption up 4.6% in 2015
Belgian cement demand increased 4.6 per cent YoY to 6,403,460t, according to Febelcem, the country's cement association. The rise was supported by good weather and a positive new housing market. The construction market saw a three per cent increase in both new residential building and renovation while public investment expanded by 5.7 per cent. Febelcem members delivered close to 4.9Mt wh...