Under a contract signed with the Yunnan province government in southwestern China the French group, through its Lafarge Shui On joint venture with local Shui On Construction and Materials Ltd, will add to its existing facilities in the province an additional annual capacity of 10Mt of new cement by 2010.
Lafarge will also invest in new plants for plasterboard and ready-mix concrete, as well as aggregate quarries.
Lafarge Shui On targets a to bring its cement production capacity in China to 50Mt in 2012 from 20Mt in 2006.
The French group will also promote energy-saving policies like the use of waste as alternative fuel.
Besides Lafarge Shui On Cement, Lafarge is present in the country through Lafarge Boral Gypsum in Asia (LBGA), a 50/50 joint venture with Australian peer Boral Limited. LBGA has three manufacturing plants in China -- two in Shanghai and one in Chongqing, for a total annual capacity of about 50Mm2. A new 10Mm2 plasterboard factory is currently under construction in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
