Akmenes to resume upgrade plans, Lithuania

Akmenes to resume upgrade plans, Lithuania
22 September 2010


Akmenes Cementas, Lithuania’s only cement manufacturer, hopes to sign a joint loan agreement in late September in order to relaunch the company’s upgrade postponed for about a year during the crisis. Only the details are left to be worked out, the company’s CEO, Arturas Zaremba, told the Verslo Zinios business daily.

"The upgrade was postponed due to high uncertainty on the market but we should launch construction works in the nearest time. The detailed plan has almost been completed," he said.

The upgrade of Akmenes Cementas will be financed with an approximately LTL200m (EUR 57.97m) loan to be extended by six banks, including SEB, DnB Nord, Swedbank, Snoras, Danske Bank and Finland’s Pohjola. The upgrade is worth a total of LTL330m.

The upgrade, which involves shifting from wet to dry-process technology, is expected to reduce the company’s fuel consumption by half thus cutting the pollutant emissions by one-fourth. Moreover, the upgrade is expected to boost the company’s output by one-fourth.
Published under Cement News