Pakistan: Pioneer Cement inks agreements with Sinoma-Chengdu

Pioneer Cement Ltd (PIOC) informed Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that it has  signed a contract with Sinoma-Chengdu of China for procurement of its new cement works, a 12MW waste heat recovery power unit and a 24MW coal-fired power plant.
 
PIOC has cement production capacity of over 2Mta but has operated at a meager 60 per cent utilisation level (FY12-FY16), despite local industry demand witnessing robust growth, says a local research house. This has been a result of lower crushing capacity coupled with lower efficiency of Line I. In this regard, the company has already undertaken a PKR800m (US$7.6m) balancing modernisation and rehabilitation project to enhance its crushing capacity which it expects to come online in six months. The management expects to increase existing capacity by over 400,000tpa.
 
PIOC also plans to undertake brownfield expansion of ~2.4Mt which is expected to cost around PkKR24bn.
 
The company will install a 12MW WHRP at an estimated cost of approximately PkR1.5bn. As per estimates, the plant is expected to meet  about 35 per centof PIOC’s power requirements.