Suez Cement boasts a series of "technology firsts" with launch of the new waste-processing plant

Cairo, 16 of February 2014. Suez Cement Group of Companies (SCGC), one of the largest Egyptian cement producers, has been continuously investing towards a better Egypt and a cleaner environment and has made a long-term commitment towards being environmentally responsible.

In this vein, Mr. Bruno Carre’, Suez Cement CEO and H.E. Laila Iskandar, the Minister of State for Environmental Affairs cut the ribbon today for the new waste-processing plant, located inside Kattameya cement plant, that turns pre-sorted waste into fuel.

The facility is the first in Egypt and it boasts state-of-the-art equipment and technology. The project, which took almost a year to complete, is worth €5 million euros. The scheme is part of Suez Cement’s strategy to boost the amount of energy it acquires via refuse-derived fuels (RDFs). The facility is being built in compliance with Egyptian environmental law and is expected to process 35 Kt of waste and provide up to 20% of the fuels required by the plant.

According to Bruno Carre’: “We are definitely proud about this new milestone and thanks to the new facility we are on track to reach our goal of producing 20% of our energy fuel needs using alternative fuels by 2017. Suez Cement is strongly determined to continue making meaningful and valuable contributions to the socio-economic development of Egypt.”
 
Suez Cement's new facility will allow the company to diversify its energy mix, lower its dependence on fossil fuels and put Egyptian waste to good use. It is part of a comprehensive strategy to replace traditional fuels like gas and mazot which have become scarce in Egypt (by coal and petroleum coke, widely used worldwide in the cement industry and develop renewable energies such as waste fuels and renewable power) looking for a new balanced and sustainable energy mix between alternative and all kind of fossil fuels.
 
The new facility is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 39,600 tons per year, thus mitigating the possible future negative impacts from coal compared to mazot.
 
Other benefits for Suez Cement, its employees and Egypt as a whole, include ensuring local production of high quality and competitive cement for the construction industry, which is one the main drivers of the economy.
The new project will help saving on scarce fuels like gas and mazot which can be used by other industries (power, fertilizers,..) which will be needed for the sustainable development of the country  and provide new training opportunities for staff in an innovative field, contributing to develop a solid waste valorization industry.
 
Since its acquisition by Italcementi Group, Suez Cement has invested a significant percentage of its industrial investments — more than LE 500 million — in the implementation of a comprehensive environmental and safety policy. 
 
Thanks to this comprehensive modernization program, all Suez Cement plants have significantly lowered their dust emission rates to well below industry and governmental limits. The program encompasses several major pollution abatement and emissions control projects launched in cooperation with the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and the World Bank.
 
In terms of renewable power, Suez Cement’s parent company is set to invest, together with other investors, 130 million euros in the first phase of the first privately-owned wind farm in Gabal El Zeit, which, when completed, will produce enough energy to cover 40% of Suez Cement’s power needs.

Contact Heidelberg Materials - Egypt

Suez Cement K30 Maadi/Ein Sokhna Road
2691 Cairo
Egypt

Suez Cement boasts a series of "technology firsts" for Egypt with launch of the new waste-processing plant_1.

Suez Cement boasts a series of "technology firsts" for Egypt with launch of the new waste-processing plant.

Suez Cement boasts a series of "technology firsts" for Egypt with launch of the new waste-processing plant_2.