Cement manufacturers are meeting in Santo Domingo this week for the XXXI Inter-American Cement Federation’s Technical Congress from Monday 8 to Thursday 11 September 2014 at the Occidental Embajador Hotel. The event includes a trade show, visits to local manufacturers and training opportunities.
Dominican Association of Cement Manufacturers (Adocem) and Cemex Dominicana president Carlos Gonzalez highlighted the competitiveness of local producers. He said that during the event, Latin American experts would analyze the latest technology and efficiency for sustainable operations. He said there are seven large producers with significant export capacity and that local consumption is 3.4 million tons, with total production at seven million tons.
The leading cement producers are Cemex Dominicana, Cementos Cibao, Domicem, Argos Dominicana, Panam, Andino and Cemento Santo Domingo.
Gonzalez says that local demand could increase with a push to build more low-cost housing and use of cement for highway construction instead of imported asphalt. He said that cement highways have a 25-year lifespan, and do not require repairs, unlike asphalt roads that need to be repaved every four years.
He commented that while in 2012 some 15,000m2 of roads were paved with cement, this increased to 150,000m2 in 2013 and by the end of this year, 500,000 m2 will be paved with cement. But he said it still is les than 5% of all road coverage.
He said that President Danilo Medina’s initiative to build 10,000 classrooms during his four-year term has given the cement industry a major boost.
http://congresotecnico2014.ficem.org/program/
http://congresotecnico2014.ficem.org/en/
Desafío de productores cemento RD es crecer con sostenibilidad