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Global Cement

Legend of Cement industry “Dr. Abdul Majeed”

Dr. Abdul Majeed legend of Cement industry passed away on 31st August, 2021

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Abdul Majeed

Dr. Abdul Majeed hails from Eminabad, District Gujranwala and had the privilege of studying at the well-renowned G.N. Khalsa College, Gujranwala and Gorden College, Rawalpindi. He did M.Sc. Technology from the University of Punjab in the year 1952.

He wrote a thesis on “The Role of Special Cements in Middle East” and was awarded Ph.D by the University of Beverly Hills, California, USA.

He started his carrier by joining Associated Cement Companies Ltd. India in Year 1953 at their Wah Cement Works, District Rawalpindi and later at Rohri Cement Works, District Sukkur. In 1974 he was offered a job of H.O.D Quality Control in Saudi Cement Company, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He returned to Pakistan in 1987 and started to serve as Cement Technologist & Consultant He has experience of more than 50 years of working in different position in Cement Industry, both in Pakistan and abroad. He travelled World-wide for higher training, attending Seminars and share knowledge. He has to his credit; development of special types of Portland cements such as Rapid-Hardening and Oil Well Cements.

He has the privilege of working at Building Research Station, UK, Portland Cement Association, USA and ACC, India. He was one of the delegate to 1st. International Conference; ”Deterioration and Repair of Reinforced Concrete” in the Arabian Gulf held at Bahrain in 1985.

He underwent training at the world renowned establishments of:

➢ M/S. F.L. Smidth & Company A/S, Denmark
➢ M/S. Krupp Polysius A.G, Germany
➢ M/S. Fuller Company, USA
➢ M/S. Halliburton Services, USA
➢ M/S. Associated Cement Companies Ltd. India

He is author of three books on Cement Technology:
• Handbook for Cement Engineers
• Portland Cements Production, Properties and Applications
• Handbook for Engineers

These books are very useful for the personnel working in cement plants as well as in Technical Institutions and Universities

Cherat Cement to setup Rs 34 Billion Greenfield Plant in DIK, KP

Cherat Cement Company Limited announced that it has approved the installation of a Rs34-billion greenfield plant in Khyber Paktunkhwa that will have a capacity of 11,000 tons per day.

The Board of Directors of the company in its meeting held on Thursday approved the installation of the cement plant in Dera Ismail Khan, KP, the cement maker informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

“The plant will have an installed production capacity of 11,000 tons per day of clinker and the total cost of the project is estimated to be approximately Rs34 billion, with completion of the project expected in 3 years,” stated the notice sent to the stock exchange.

The development comes as the country’s cement sector has shown excellent growth in recent period amid a return of business activity. In May 2021 total cement dispatches were recorded at 3.947 million tons against 2.634 million tons dispatched during the same month of last fiscal, showing a growth of 49.86 percent.

Domestic cement dispatches during the month of May 2021 increased to 3.201 million tons from 2.271 million tons in May 2020, depicting a healthy increase of 40.95 percent, revealed the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association.

Flying Cement Co slates expansion to complete in 3QFY22

Flying Cement Co Ltd (FCC) announced that its plant expansion in Mangowal, Kushab district of Pakistan’s Punjab province is due to come online in the 3QFY22. The cement plant has an existing clinker production capacity of 4000tpd (Line I) and the company’s Line II project will add a further 7700tpd to take total clinker production capacity to 11,700tpd.

Out of the PKR10.2bn (US$64.8m) total projected cost for the expansion, FCC has already incurred PKR7bn. Taking into account the plant’s total capacity, which will be available in the 2HFY22, the company’s management plans to achieve a utilisation rate of 35 per cent in FY22. It is also expecting to target an eight per cent market share in 3QFY22.

Meanwhile, FCC has informed Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that it has completed installing a new coal-fired captive power plant of 12MW at its site in Khushab and trial operations are expected to be started in July.

In February the company commissioned a 7.5MW WHR system. Line I has a an 17MW energy requirement, while for Line II this is 32MW, resulting in a total energy requirement of 49MW. FCC’s energy sources supply 58.5MW, including load connection from WAPDA (25MW), WHR System (7.5M), furnace oil engines (14MW) and captive power plant (12MW).

APMA Demands Unloading Imported Coal at KPT

To handle imported coal efficiently and to avoid delays, All Pakistan Cement Manufacturing association demands unloading of imported coal at Karachi Port Trust instead of Pakistan International Bulk Terminal.

As reported by The Dawn, shipments face 10 to 20 days delays due to lineup at PIBT. Pressure at the port has surged due to rising demand of the cement in the country due to massive development.
On the contrary, PIBT spokesperson blames importers for non-coordination that result in congestion. He proposed that vessels must be scheduled to avoid choking.

Importers have been paying almost double demurrage since June 2018 when Supreme Court banned unloading of coal at KPT. So to avoid extra cost, importers have been demanding KPT as a substitute to PIBT.

Pakistan’s federal budget 2021/22 benefits the cement industry

Pakistan’s finance minister, Shaukat Tarin, presented a federal budget of 8.48 trillion PKR (US $ 54 billion) from 2021 to 2010 at parliament last week. The government has set a GDP growth target of 4.8%, compared to the expected 3.9% for the next fiscal year. In addition, Islamabad has allocated significant funding to the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP). These indirect incentives are driving Pakistan’s cement industry. Research experts unanimously believe in a neutral to positive budget for the cement industry.

Analysts said the government allocated PSDP to 2,135 billion PKR (highest ever, federal PSDP secured 650 billion PKR last year compared to 650 billion PKR last year, securing 123.5 billion PKR for the state) to drive national development. He said it should drive cement demand.

In addition, the National Highway Office allocated PKR114bn vs. PKR118bn in 2009 (actual spending on 10MFY21 set on PKR79bn, according to the Planning Committee, suggests a 44% increase in allocation this year). In addition, a PKR300bn subsidy has been allocated to the Naya Pakistan Housing Authority, alongside the PKR30bn for the Naya Pakistan markup subsidy, which should stimulate construction demand.

In addition, PKR57bn, PKR23bn, PKR6bn, and PKR14bn are reserved for the Dasu, Diamir-Bhasha, Mohmand, and Neelum Jhelum dams, and working with those colonies should significantly increase cement demand.

The Association of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers (APCMA) has not yet commented on the benefits of financial measures. However, it has appealed to the government to abolish FEDs, reduce other tariffs and taxes, and provide manufacturers with the opportunity to control production costs and further optimize / expand their factories. This is the government. Similarly, AHCML Research raised the question that tariffs on corporate income tax, fuel, and coal should be reduced to support the cement industry.