The Paris-based global leader in cement is spending €125m in a new kiln and associated production facilities at its Russian subsidiary Voskresenskcement’s existing works, raising the cement capacity from a current 1.9Mt to 3.0Mt.  The increased capacity should by fully on line by 2009.  Elsewhere in Europe, Lafarge has spent US$30m on acquiring Cemento Esfera, which owns a grinding plant in the Spanish port of Tarragona with an annual capacity of 0.5Mt. The statement also mentions the €25m slag grinding plant in the port of Bordeaux and plans for a grinding station in the port of Sète, both previously commented on in ICR.
 
Capacity at the Roberta, Atlanta works, where a new production line went on stream in 2002, is being further enhanced to reach 1.4Mt by the middle of 2006, twice the capacity it had when it was acquired with Blue Circle Industries.  In Chile, the group is building a new grinding station in the southern port of Puerto Montt at a cost of €20m. This 0.3Mta plant should come on stream in 2007.  In addition, there are plans to double capacity at the cement integrated plant in Ecuador as well as a new production line at an, as yet un-named, US plant.
 
The investment of some €120m in adding 1m tonnes of additional capacity at the Lichtenburg works in South Africa is commented on elsewhere in this issue, while in Zambia Lafarge is to spend €85m or so on a new cement works near Lusaka with an annual capacity of 0.75Mt.  In Morocco, the group is contemplating a doubling of capacity both the integrated works at Tetouan, which went on stream only in 2004, and at the grinding station in Tangier, taking the latter to 1.0Mt.
 
In Asia, Lafarge has acquired a 1.0Mta grinding station at Soosung, near Taegu, the thirds largest city in South Korea.  These investments are in addition of the new capacity coming on stream in 2006 in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Mexico, adding approximately 5Mt.
Published under Cement News