Cement producers still struggling to source coal supply
Cement producers still struggling to source coal supply
Sourcing coking coal is still a major challenge for Lao cement producers, when it comes to manufacturing their products for supply to the domestic market.
Each year, cement factories need millions of tonnes of coking coal to fuel their cement kilns, according to Mr Inpone Phathananourack, the manager of Vangvieng Cement Plant No 3.
Due to the lack of a sufficient supply of domestic coking coal, the Lao cement factories have to import many millions of tonnes from overseas each year, Mr Inpone said.
The lack of raw materials is a major issue for cement producers, as it makes their manufacturing process more capital intensive due to the high cost of imported coal.
Mr Inpone gave the example of Vangveing Cement Plant No 3, which has the capacity to produce between 850,000-1million tonnes of cement per annum, however to do so it requires about 170,000 tonnes of coal to fire the kiln.
Currently a coal excavation project in Vientiane province is able to supply only 70,000 tonnes of coal a year, which is divided between Vangvieng Cement Plants No 1 & 2, Mr Inpone said.
He is concerned that sourcing coal will remain a challenge into the future, even though there are plans for another coal mine in the area.
However, to supply the domestic demand for cement, which is considerable due to the many projects in hydropower and road and bridge construction, the company will continue to produce at full capacity.
Cement factories in Laos currently produce about 2.5-3 million tonnes a year but demand has soared to 3.5 million tonnes per annum as the economy powers ahead.
Vangvieng Cement Plant No 3 is currently under testing for the first three months of the year. Management will start by producing at 150,000 tonnes but will ramp up to full capacity once a source of coking coal is secured.
The boom in infrastructure development will require vast amounts of concrete. Many large projects especially hydropower plants and foreign investment projects are still importing cement products.
Various construction projects have to import cement because they cannot source sufficient supplies from local factories.
Other processing manufacturers within the country are also dependant on imported coking coal despite numerous coal mine projects underway in Laos.
vientiane times
