Three cement companies are planning to invest in a new joint venture cement plant in eastern Uruguay’s Treinta y Tres department to tap export potential in neighbouring Brazil, according to local press reports.

State oil and cement company ANCAP, along with Spanish cement producer Cementos Molins and Brazil’s Votorantim have filed an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a new 750,000tpa. Total costs are estimated at US$160m, with Cementos Molins contributing 60 per cent and ANCAP and Votorantim 20 per cent each.

At the same time, ANCAP is moving forward with the EIA’s of two new lime production facilities, the first of which will produce 150tpd with a total investment of US$7m. A second unit will have a 500tpd capacity and involve an investment of US$95m.

To provide the region with better options towards Brazil, Uruguayan port authority ANP is trying to develop a commercial route connecting the Merin and the Los Patos lakes. Merín lake is on the border between Uruguay and Brazil's southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul, and it is connected by the San Gonzalo canal to the Los Patos lake, which in turn empties into the Atlantic ocean. (Source: Business News Americas).