Colombia: EcoCementos project will be located in free trade zone

Cementos Molins' joint venture with Colombia's Corona construction group, EcoCementos, will produce cement in one of the new free trade zones announced by the country's government.

The new works, which is expected to have a clinker capacity of 3000tpd and a cement capacity of 1.35Mta, will be located in Sonsón, Antioquia, Colombia. It represents a joint investment of US$370m and is expected to be operational by mid-2018.

Colombia is launching four new free trade zones, authorised by a commission led by the Ministry of Commerce which will generate more than 700 direct jobs and attract investments of about US$850,000m.

Cementos Molins' capex projects
In the run-up to 2018 Cementos Molins is investing EUR779.6m (US $873m) together with partners. The company aims to add 4.2Mta of capacity to its current total of more than 13Mta through expansion projects at its existing plants in Mexico and Argentina as well as investment in new cement works in Colombia and Bolivia. 

In addition to the Colombian EcoCementos venture, it is currently building a 1Mta cement plant at Yacuces, Bolivia. The EUR165.2m project with Votorantim is expected to be commissioned before the end of this year.

In Mexico the company is partnering with Buzzi Unicem through Corporación Moctezuma and building a EUR131.1m second kiln line at the Apazapan works. The line will add 1.3Mta to the plant's capacity upon commissioning in the last quarter of this year.

Through Cementos Avellaneda, owned jointly with Votorantim Cimentos, the Spanish cement producer is carrying out two expansion projects in Argentina. At the Olavarría plant, the company expects to have an extra 0.17Mta of capacity online before the end of 2017 while the San Luis works is scheduled to commission a 0.7Mta expansion in late-2018.