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Pakistan: January cement sales down 16.58pc

Pakistan Cement dispatches declined 16.58 percent to 3.95 million tonnes in January 2022 against 4.73 million tonnes in the corresponding period last fiscal, mainly due to harsh weather in hilly areas that affected construction and transportation activities.

According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) on Wednesday, local cement sales in January 2022 were 3.4 million tonnes compared to 4.04 million tonnes in January 2021, down 15.87 percent. Exports suffered a massive decline of 20.71 percent as volumes reduced from 694,934 tonnes in January 2021 to 551,006 tons in January 2022.

In January 2022, cement factories based up north sold 2.707 million tonnes in the domestic markets, showing a reduction of 18.29 percent against 3.313 million tonnes in January 2021. South-based units dispatched 693,453 tonnes of cement in local markets during January 2022 that was 4.82 percent less compared to 728,568 tonnes sold in January 2021.

Exports from the north-based units nosedived 94.12 percent, as quantities reduced from 233,404 tonnes in January 2021 to 13,727 tonnes in January 2022. However, the exports from down south increased 16.41 percent to 537,279 tonnes in January 2022 against 461,530 tonnes during the same month last year. During the first seven months of the current fiscal year, total cement dispatches (domestic and exports) were 31.4 million tonnes that calculates to 5.89 percent lower than 33.37 million tonnes dispatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. Further analysis indicated that domestic uptake of the commodity reduced by 0.69 percent to 27.465 million tonnes from 27.657 million tonnes during July-January 2021, whereas exports during the same period declined by 31.04 percent to 3.94 million tonnes from 5.71 million tonnes during July-January 2021.

North-based mills dispatched 22.87 million tonnes of cement domestically during the first seven months of the current fiscal, showing a reduction of 2.85 percent compared to 23.54 million tonnes during July-January 2021. Exports from the north declined by 61.39 percent to 557,615 tonnes during July-January 2022 compared with 1.444 million tonnes exported during the same period last year.

Domestic dispatches by the south-based units during July-January 2022 were 4.59 million tonnes, showing an increase of 11.67 percent over 4.115 million tonnes of cement dispatched during the same period of the last fiscal year. There was however a substantial decline of around 20.78 percent in exports from the south zone, as the volumes reduced to 3.384 million tonnes in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from 4.272 million tonnes in the corresponding period last fiscal.

A spokesman of the APCMA said the decline in cement dispatches was hitting the industry badly, while the industry was already under pressure due to sharp increase in the cost of production that includes international coal prices, high power tariff and transportation cost. He said that slowdown in the construction activities for public sector development projects amid unfavourable weather conditions were some of the major causes of lower cement consumption.

Dalmia Cement (Bharat) commences commercial production at Murli

Dalmia Cement (Bharat) (DCBL), (Dalmia Bharat group), has commenced commercial production at its Murli cement plant in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra, India.

The company acquired the plant for INR4100m (US$55.2m) and further committed to invest INR9290m for the revival, modernisation, expansion and installing green manufacturing equipment such as waste heat recovery systems, solar power, green fuel systems and robotic labs for enhanced quality monitoring. The plant has been turned around in a record time of 15 months from its acquisition under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process.

With this, DCBL has added 2.9Mta cement capacity to the company’s overall installed capacity. Its installed cement capacity has now grown to 35.9Mta.

In addition, DCBL has unveiled its long-term growth and investment strategy to expand its installed cement capacity across the nation to 110-130Mta by 2031. The growth strategy is being executed through a mix of organic and inorganic opportunities with an inclination towards a more planned and cost-effective organic route. DCBL is the the fourth-largest cement manufacturing group in India by installed capacity.

Pakistan’s Cement makers shifting to alternative energy

Pakistan: A number of cement makers are setting up solar and coal-fired power plants to curtail surging electricity expenses which is a material component of cement manufacturing cost.

From January 2021 till date, manufacturers have also informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) about their plans and commissioning of solar and coal-fired plants.

Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd (ACPL) company secretary Irfan Amanullah told Dawn that the Rs1.8 billion 20-megawatt solar power plant had successfully been commissioned from Jan 1 at the existing plant premises in collaboration with Attock Energy (Pvt) Ltd and leading Chinese suppliers.

He said if the cement makers do not invest in alternative energy/power solutions, the cost of making cement would increase by at least Rs60 per 50 kg bag based on the current grid power tariff.

Mr Irfan said manufacturers are investing in clean energy solutions to minimise the cost of cement manufacturing.

Power Cement Ltd (PCL) has also decided to explore environmentally friendly renewable energy solutions without any major capacity expansion.

PCL signed an agreement with Burj Solar Energy Ltd on Jan 6 for procurement of electricity on a fixed tariff (around 40pc lower than the existing grid tariff) for the next 20 years. The supplier will invest by setting up a dedicated 7MW solar power plant at the existing site of the company which is expected to become operational within the next six to eight months.

Flying Cement Company Ltd (FCCL) on Jan 3 announced that it had successfully started commercial operations of 12MW captive power plant (CPP) in District Khushab.

FCCL said the key objective of the CPP is cost rationalisation and lower dependency on Wapda’s power supply. The company is contemplating saving the energy cost by up to 30pc, which would positively reflect on the company’s financial performance and profitability.

In the third week of October 2021, Bestway Cement Ltd (BCL) said it had decided to set up a brownfield cement plant with a capacity of 7,200 tonnes clinker per day at its Hattar Site, District Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, along with a nine-megawatt Waste Heat Recovery Plant.

BCL had entered into an EPC agreement with Sinoma International Engineering Company Ltd.

BCL had also decided to set up a 6.4MW off-grid solar power plant at the same site for which an agreement has been entered into with Reon Energy.

DG Khan Cement Company Ltd (DGKCCL) on Sept 10, 2021 said that the company had successfully completed the second phase of installation and commissioning of a 30MW captive coal-fired plant with air-cooled condenser technology at Hub Site, District Lasbela, Balochistan.

The plant is based on a high temperature and pressure reheat thermal system which would generally improve the overall efficiency of the captive power plant. With the completion of this phase, the captive power generation of this project had reached 40MW.

Maple Leaf Cement Factory Company (MLCFC) in August 2021 said the company had signed a contract with plant supplier zero carbon for a 5MW solar plant at the existing plant site in Iskandarabad Mianwali. The Rs450m project is expected to start generation this month.

Power Cement, Burj Solar Energy sign deal to set up power plant

The Power Cement Limited has signed an agreement to set up a 7MW solar power plant at its existing site for the procurement of electricity, a bourse filing said on Friday.

“The company has signed an agreement with Burj Solar Energy (Private) Limited on January 6, 2022 for procurement of electricity on a fixed tariff (around 40 per cent lower than the existing grid tariff) for the next twenty years,” the filing stated.

According to the agreement, Burj Solar will invest by setting up a dedicated 7MW solar power plant at the existing site of the Power Cement, and the plant is expected to be operational within the next six to eight months.

In order to curtail the impact of swelling electricity expense, which is a material component of cement manufacturing cost, the company decided to explore environment-friendly renewable energy solutions without incurring any major capital expenditures, it added.

The rapid growth of solar and wind power offering exponential cost reduction has compelled the industries and businesses to modify their energy consumption mix, as more and more industrial units are opting for distributed power generation to ensure reliability and cost savings.

Fauji Cement takes US$212m loan for cement plant expansions

Pakistan: Fauji Cement has taken out a loan of US$212m from a consortium lead by Habib Bank Limited. The Business Recorder newspaper has reported that the funding will go towards cement plant expansion projects with a total cost of US$339m. Fauji Cement plans to expand its plant in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, while its subsidiary Askari Cement plans to expand its plant in Nizampur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The company says that the projects will together increase its installed cement production capacity to 10Mt/yr.

Afghan and Russian investors to establish cement company in Afghanistan

The acting deputy prime minister of the interim government in Afghanistan hosted talks between investors from Afghanistan and Russia on 4 January 2021. Anadolu News Agency has reported that the investors plan to collaborate on the establishment of a new cement company.

Acting deputy culture and information minister Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted that the meeting covered the establishment of cement plants‘in detail’. He added that the government will strive to establish investor-friendly laws.