SCG has hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Khammouane cement plant, its first cement plant in Laos.

Present at the ceremony were Pichit Maipoom, President and Vice President - Operations, SCG Cement - Building Materials, Nithi Pattarachoke, Vice President - Domestic Market, SCG Cement - Building Materials, Chanson Senbouttalat, Deputy Minister, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Dr Sinnava Souphanouvong, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, Odai Sudaporn, Vice Governor of Khammouane province, and Adisak Thepeat, Governor of Nakhon Phanom province.

The plant is located at Powa Village, Mahachai District in Khammouane province. It is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2017, with an operating capacity of 1.8Mta.

SCG, headquartered in Thailand, established the Khammouane Cement Co Ltd as part of its Cement - Building Materials business unit, to capitalise on the growing demands for cement in Lao PDR. The Khammouane cement plant will be equipped with state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly technology:  from the semi-open cut mining process that minimises the impact on the surrounding environment to a reforestation plan to plant trees in areas where mining has completed. The initiative will set standards for sustainability in business and raise the bar for other plants in Laos, according to the company.