Asia & Pacific Rim

New Road Transport and Highways Minister is reported to be looking into long-term supply arrangements with major cement producers for the construction of concrete roads.

Bernard Fontana visited Holcim’s operations in Sri Lanka recently, which he said are unlikely to be negatively impacted by the merger with Lafarge.

According to local reports, the High Courts of Bombay and Allahabad have approved plans for UltraTech to acquire assets belonging to Jaypee Cement Corporation Ltd in Gujarat.

The Board of Directors of ACC Ltd has appointed Harish Badami as CEO and Managing Director Designate of the company, effective from 1 August 2014.

Cement sales increased by 7.7% in Indonesia in May, an improvement on April when they fell by 0.4%.

Gebr. Pfeiffer SE will supply mills to a cement plant in Malaysia, the Elazig plant in Turkey and a cement production facility in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.

SDLG wheel loaders are operating at Jinsheng Concrete Co., Ltd in Shaanxi Province, west China, close to the site of the famous Terracotta Army.

Maple Leaf has signed a 3-year agreement with Pakistan Railways for the transport of cement to Karachi, while India’s ASSOCHAM proposes investment plan for the country’s rail system that could aid industry.

Despite nine months of consecutive expansion in house building and improvements in apartment construction, the Australian construction industry remained in negative territory in May 2014.

India’s Shree Cement is planning to set up a 3 million tpa grinding plant in Odapada, located in the Dhenkanal district, at a cost of approximately Rs.452.55 crore.

Anjani Portland Cement, Gujarat Sidhee Cement, BASF and Vattenfall announce new appointments.

Cement sector growth began to slow in April amid fears of a weakening housing market.

According to research by Timetric, factors such as an increase in house building and infrastructure development, as well as low interest and unemployment rates, are set to drive the Australian construction industry.

Cement sales on the national market improved by 9.86% y/y in May, although exports fell by 3.4%.

Claudius Peters has been awarded a contract by PT Semen Padang for cement storage silos and packing plants.