The Colombia-based cement and building materials provider is making the investment with its strategic partner the Honduras Military Welfare Institute over the next two years.
The investment funds will be used for strategic projects such as the expansion of the production capacity of Argos' Piedras Azules plant, located in Comayagua, the extension of the solar farm currently operating adjacent to the cement plant, the installation of a new solar farm at its Río Blanquito, Choloma, operation, and the strengthening of the waste management and co-processing program.
Cementos Argos has been present in the Honduras market for 40 years and says the expansion will boost the country’s growth and development.
Argos adds that the expansion of the installed capacity of the Piedras Azules plant will allow Argos to increase its annual cement production by 35% and is the cement company’s way of preparing itself to meet the accelerated market demand, which it serves from its 3 production and logistics centres nationwide.
In addition, the solar farm in Comayagua, inaugurated in 2020 and currently consisting of 32,160 solar panels that supply up to 20% of the plant’s energy consumption, will increase its capacity to supply up to 25%, equivalent to an additional 5 MW, for a total of 15 MW for the solar farm, allowing Argos to reduce its annual CO2 emissions. At its Río Blanquito operation, the cement company will launch a second solar farm with an estimated projection of 1.2 MW with the installation of approximately 2,000 panels.
"This investment is a vote of confidence of Argos in Honduras and represents our commitment to the country’s economic reactivation and our firm determination to contribute to the consolidation of prosperous and sustainable communities based on competitive and visionary initiatives," said Luis Eduardo Tovar, CEO of Argos Honduras. "We will continue our efforts to promote the development of Honduran families through the creation of social value at a national level.
The investment will also be used to strengthen the industrial waste co-processing programme, through the acquisition of new equipment and facilities to prepare and consume waste-derived fuels, with the purpose of achieving up to 12% substitution of fossil fuels by 2030.
This represents an environmental benefit for Argos as it will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 14% and contribute to the responsible management of more than 5,500 tons of solid industrial waste per year. In recent years, the company has co-processed more than 1.5 million waste-tyres in the country and recently signed an alliance with Fundesur and Fundación Herco to collect up to 5,000 tires per month in Choluteca and co-process them as an environmentally responsible solution for this waste.
The investment will be executed between 2022 and 2023 and will generate more than 500 direct job openings, which Argos says will also boost local economies and promote a more prosperous future for Hondurans.
