Quarry Products

HeidelbergCement, the cement producer, has started the construction of its Global HeidelbergCement Technology Center (HTC) in Leimen, Germany.

Investment in the new office and laboratory building that is to accommodate up to 170 staff will amount to €20million.

The HTC will be set up by Mannheim-based construction company Diringer & Scheidel and is due to be ready for occupation by the end of August 2016.

An agreement has been signed by cement maker Lafarge Zambia with oil company Total Zambia to have cement sold at all Total filling stations of nationwide. The material is to be sold in Lafarge-branded containers, and it is said the initiative will enhance proximity for the construction industry.

In Vietnam, the Ministry of Construction hopes that exports of building materials will grow 10-15%/year.
It is hoped that by 2020, exports of building materials will hit US$2billion-2.5billion.
In order to achieve the target, the Ministry of Construction will assist the sector to become competitive, seek new outlets for items such as sanitary ware, porcelain tiles, granite tiles and cement as well as consolidate traditional overseas market.
It is projected that by 2020, Vietnam will export 100-110 milli

Three plants worth TJS 1.60 billion (€227.97 million/US$255.33 million) will be built in the Dangara special economic zone (SEZ) with the help of Chinese investors.

The capacity of the cement plant will be 1.6 million tonnes/year. A tiles plant will produce 2 million tonnes/year while a glass plant will manufacture 2 million tonnes/year.

In Malaysia, Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) is developing its third grinding facility at a cost of MYR 190 million (€47.37 million/US$52.82 million).

When operational in the first quarter of 2016, the companhy will be able to expand its cement output capacity by 60% to 2.75 million tonnes/year. Also, the company will improve its distribution facilities by spending another MYR 17 million in 2015.

Spanish cement company Cementos Molins, generated a profit of €15.10 million during the first quarter of 2015, which represents a 132% increase compared to the same period in 2014. Its Spanish units saw Ebitda hit €2.1 million.

Algerian cement producer GICA is constructing 14 ready-to-use concrete plants with a total annual capacity of 3.5 million m³, which will be operational at the end of May 2015.

The project is part of the group's plan to create 16 plants for total investment of DZD 7.2 billion (€66 million/US$73.92 million).

The 16 plants include 13 fixed sites and three mobile plants, and of the 14 that will be operation in May, 12 are fixed sites and two are mobile plants.
Algerian cement producer GICA is constructin

Nigeria-based Dangote Cement is planning to start operations of its new US$500 million (€448.42 million) factory in Tanzania during August, 2015.

The plant is to increase the annual production of the company in Tanzania by two-fold with its 3 million tonne/year capacity, and is part of a strategy of the company to increase its overall manufacturing capacity to 62 million tonnes by 2017 from 42 million tonnes at present. The new plant will be initially powered from the grid, while supply is for the domest