Skip to content

DGK Cement

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.

Chinese energy saving solution provider accelerating upgrade of industries

Chinese energy saving solution provider accelerating upgrade of industries in Pakistan, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Thursday.

Recently, the coal-fired units in the project of 1*30MW coal-fired power station plus 1*10MW waste heat captive power station of DG Khan Hub in Pakistan contracted by Sinoma Energy Conservation Ltd. passed the 72-hour performance assessment smoothly and obtain the acceptance certificate.”Our projects are all completed this year, providing direct energy guarantee for owners to save electricity output and reduce production costs”, said Ji Lei, Head of Sinoma Energy Conservation Pakistan, in an interview with CEN.

In June 2019, DG KhanCement signed a deal with Sinoma Energy Conservation for upgrades at the integrated Hub cement plant. The agreement includes a 10MW waste heat recovery (WHR) unit and a 30MW coal power plant. According to Ji, the 30MW coal power plant employs a high temperature and ultra-high-pressure (uHPHT) primary reheat thermal system at home and abroad for the first time, which will greatly improve the overall thermal efficiency of the power plant, reduce coal consumption and the overall production cost.

Compared with the conventional high-temperature and high-pressure system, the uHPHT system is expected to reduce the standard coal consumption by about 10400 tons, and the estimate carbon dioxide emission will drop by 23700 tons. In additon, total cement output will be increased by 18100 tons after the completion of the project.”During the 72-hour performance assessment, our performance indicators were better than the contractual guaranteed values, and our emissions indicators were lower than Pakistan’s local emission standards.

It can be said that we have made due contributions to the energy conservation and consumption reduction of the local cement industry.At present, more than half of the cement plants in Pakistan’s cement industry have adopted Sinoma Energy Conservation’s waste heat power generation system.”In addition, we have also done a lot of detailed planning in photovoltaics, biomass energy, wind power, hydropower, and small and medium-sized self-supplied power plants.

In the field of renewable energy, we undoubtedly have a very broad scope for cooperation with major industrial and commercial enterprises in Pakistan,” noted Ji. On the other hand, Sinoma Energy Conservation currently has four project departments in Pakistan, with a total of about 20 local employees. “During the epidemic, we adopted a combination of on-site training and online guidance to train employees on energy conservation.

Under normal circumstances, we generally arrange them to train in China for one to three months.” The reporter learned that energy conservation programs in Pakistan has greatly stimulated the increase in the employment rate around the project location. In the future, China-Pakistan cooperation in energy-saving construction will not only contribute to the global carbon neutral goal, but also contribute to local employment.

Minister Seeks Timeline For Setting Up New Cement Plants

Pakistan: Provincial Minister for Industries and Commerce Mian Aslam Iqbal Monday asked the companies obtaining the No Objections Certificate (NOC) to give a timeline for setting up a new cement plant.
He was discussing the matter with representatives of companies obtaining the NOC for setting up new cement plants at the Civil Secretariat on Monday.

They discussed in details the progress regarding the timeline for setting up of new cement factories after the issuance of the NOC.

Some of the companies apprised the minister the reasons for the delay in establishment of new plants. The minister said that the company was bound to start work on establishing cement plant within six months after obtaining the NOC. He said that the provincial government had issued 10 NOCs for setting up of new cement factories to promote the construction sector and increase employment opportunities.

He said more NOCs would be issued after the approval by the cabinet.

The minister said that never in the history of the country had so many NOCs been issued in such a short span of time.

Mian Aslam Iqbal said that with the setting up of new cement factories, billions of rupees would be invested in Punjab. It is great that new industries were being set up in the province due to the government’s pro-industry policies.

Among the representative who called on the minister included Brig (retd) Syed Kausar Hussain of Bestway Cement, Asim Khawas Khan of Pioneer Cement, Syed Ahsanuddin of Fatima Cement, Muhammad Tariq of Fauji Cement Limited, Muhammad Ashraf of Maple Leaf, Khurram Shahzad of Kohat Cement, Annan Khan of DG Khan Cement and others.

Secretary Industry and Commerce Dr Wasif Khurshid, Additional Secretary Commerce and officers were also present.

Pakistan is entering a new cement capacity expansion phase

In a cement conference, conducted by AKD Securities Ltd CEO, Muhammad Farid Alam, on 15 September 2021, Pakistan’s cement industry producers confirmed that the country has entered another expansion phase. The total installed capacity of the cement industry in Pakistan is currently at 69Mta, and a further 18Mta of capacity is in the pipeline. This will take total production capacity to 87Mta by FY24.

Atif Kaludi, CFO of Lucky Cement Ltd, Muhammad Rehan, CFO at Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd, Shamail Javed, CFO at Gharibwal Cement Ltd, and Inayatullah Niazi, CFO at DG Khan Cement Ltd verified that the next expansion phase was imminent.

In FY21 Pakistan’s cement sales grew by 20 per cent YoY to 57.4Mt. For FY22 experts expect demand to grow by 10 per cent YoY. They estimated that if demand continues to increase by 10 per cent each year, the industry will reach 100 per cent capacity utilisation by FY26.

Lucky Cement

Lucky will incur capex of PKR23bn (US$136.99m) for its upcoming cement expansion, of which approximately 50 per cent is funded through Temporary Economic Relief Financing (TERF) and Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) facilities. The development is expected to commence operations by December 2022, Atif Kaludi added.

Attock Cement

Cement expansion of 4250tpd is expected to come online by January 2024. Similarly, a solar plant of 20MW is expected to go online by October 2021, said Muhammad Rehan.

Garibwal Cement

According to Shamail Javed, GWLC’s announced expansion is subject to board approval. If the board approves, it will take two years to start commercial production.

DG Khan Cement

The company is expected to start construction of a project from next year. The 10,000-14,000tpd is expected to come online by FY25. The total cost of the project is expected to be US$250m and will be financed through a combination of debt and equity, said Inayatullah Niazi.

DG Khan’s Hub plant commences electricity supply to Pakistan grid

DG Khan has connected its upgraded Hub cement plant and power infrastructure to the national grid. The Pakistan Observer newspaper has reported that the facilities generate 40MW of power via a 10MW waste heat recovery (WHR) plant and 30MW coal-fired power plant. China National Building Material (CNBM) subsidiary Sinoma Energy Conservation provided engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for both power plants.

Pakistan cement production rises 27% in 12MFY21

International news agency CEMNET reported, The overall output of the Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries Index (LSMI) in Pakistan increased by 14.9 per cent for July 2020-June 2021 compared to July 2019-June 2020, including local cement production, FBS estimated. Industry attributes the increase in production on the back of a boost in local demand by housing schemes.

During the last fiscal year of July 2020-June 2021, Pakistan’s cement production increased by 27.3 per cent, YoY to 49.803Mt compared to 39.121Mt in the preceding fiscal year. The upward trend in cement output was also noted in June 2021 alone, when it rose by 32.4 per cent to 4.666Mt versus 3.523Mt in the same month last year.