Lafarge Holcim Morocco: the Agadir cement plant exports its clinker to West Africa

After the export by the Agadir-Souss cement plant (Lafarge Holcim Morocco), of a first shipment of 40,000 T to Guinea, a second shipment of clinker is planned for early July, bound for East Africa. West.

Nearly a year after the commissioning of the Agadir-Souss cement plant, Lafarge Holcim Morocco is preparing to export, from this plant located in the rural town of Tidsi Nissendalene (province of Taroudant), its second shipment of clinker, this time to West Africa. This is the announcement made by Mohamed Kharaki, director of the plant, during a visit last week to this cement plant whose installed production capacity is equal to 1.6 million tonnes per year.

The unit covers the central region and the southern areas of the Kingdom which include Souss-Massa as well as the three southern provinces. It should be noted that Africa’s second largest cement manufacturer already has a clinker grinding plant in Lâayoune. After the routing of this first boat (of a quantity of 40,000 T), from the port of Agadir to Guinea, a second cargo will be destined according to Lafarge Holcim Morocco, at the beginning of July, in this area which does not have limestone for the manufacture of clinker.

Subsequently, other shipments will follow in the coming months through the expansion of its export portfolio. For the group, which has positioned itself since 2014 on the export of clinker to West Africa and other areas, these exports are an opportunity to mitigate, particularly in a context marked by the decline in cement sales within this market.

Alternative fuels: a substitution rate of 30%
The other novelty, which will allow the cement plant to optimize its costs through the use of alternative fuels, is the implementation, planned for 2023, of an MBT (Mechanical & biological treatment) platform, between LafargeHolcim and Ciments du Maroc, as part of the delegated management of the landfill and recovery center (CEV) in Agadir.

As a reminder, this delegated management, the duration of which is 20 years, concerns the recovery of solid recovered fuels (SRF) from household and similar waste (DMA) from the Tamellast landfill. “The project is at the consultation stage while the part relating to its definition and engineering has already been completed,” adds Mohamed Kharaki, director of the Agadir-Souss plant.

Moreover, the rate of substitution compared to fossil fuels, within this cement plant, can reach up to 30% in terms of recycling waste used in the form of alternative fuels. It should be noted that the delegated management project for the Agadir landfill and recovery center (CEV) is part of a new vision aimed at maximizing the recovery of AMD and minimizing landfilling. In this sense, a partnership framework has already been initialed between the local authorities, the ECI and the two cement companies operating in the Souss Region, LafargeHolcim and Ciments du Maroc, as well as with other partners. It will enable the recovery of a portion of DMA in CSR.

The cement plant will be powered by wind power from 2023
“In addition to its production system consisting mainly, at the national level, of 7 cement plants, 3 grinding centers and 22 concrete plants, Lafarge Holcim Morocco also has a geocycle platform for the use of alternative fuels. This is a solution for recycling household and industrial waste in order to reduce the use of fossil fuels,” says Abderrazak Gharib, Agadir-Souss project director.

In total, the company recycles the equivalent of 179,000 tonnes of alternative fuels per year thanks to its 5 waste treatment platforms. “The use of alternative fuels, which is an environmental solution in terms of waste recycling, represents a gain in terms of fossil fuel import currencies,” adds Gharib. It should also be noted that, like the group’s other plants in Morocco, the Agadir-Souss cement plant will be powered, from 2023, by wind power in addition to alternative fuels. In total, “82% of the electricity needs of Lafarge Morocco factories come from green energies, mainly wind power”, specifies Gharib.

The construction of this cement plant required 3 billion dirhams, of which 15%, or 450 million dirhams, were dedicated to environmental issues. Built according to the concept of the Holcim Group: “Plant of tomorrow – the factory of tomorrow, the cement plant uses technologies of automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and predictive maintenance to improve its production process. Generating 200 direct jobs, it mobilized 1,400 people during its construction period between 2018 and 2021, while its assembly was carried out entirely by national companies.

Yassine Saber / ECO Inspirations