Industry

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 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).

Fecto Cement Limited has commissioned the commercial operation of a 5 MW captive solar power plant at its factory located at Sangjani, Islamabad.

The aforesaid information was disseminated by the company through notice to Pakistan Stock Exchange.

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.