Dandot Cement, Tianjin Cement sign agreement worth $640,000

April 07, 2022 (MLN): The Dandot Cement Company Limited (PSX: DNCC) has signed an additional agreement of $640,000 with its existing Chinese Supplier, Tianjin Cement Industry Design and Research Institute Company Limited (TCDRI), the company said in its progress report issued on Wednesday.

Under this agreement, the company will import additional equipment for modification of coal grinding, pulverized coal storage, cement extraction & feeding, cement mill grinding and preheater fabrication.

Additionally, the management has also finalized a PLC/DCS system (programmable logic control / Distributed Control System) for automation of the remaining areas of the plant through a separate contract with Zhejiang SUPCON Technology Co., Ltd. which will provide seamless integration and central control of the entire plant for achieving better operational and maintenance efficiencies.

The report further notified that equity of Rs195 million has been injected by the management during the quarter including cash margin of PKR 63 million (20% of $1.722 million).

For the purpose of BMR, the Company will arrange Rs1,878 million through equity and to date an amount of Rs463 million has already been injected by the management of the company.

Detailed drawings of BMR civil work are in the final stages and hopefully will be completed in this quarter. However, contracts for the construction of the boundary wall with Electrical and Plumbing have been finalized during the quarter and related work is in progress. For this purpose, the IESCO connection has also been restored during the quarter.

The management is also working on different options & feasibility for solar power plant which may reduce the dependency of the company on the national grid and will provide stable uninterrupted and cheaper electricity.

A topographic survey of the plant site has also been completed during the quarter. This survey locates all surfaces of the property and depicts all-natural features and elevations necessary for BMR.

For the purpose of designing the civil foundations, a sub-soil investigation has also been completed this quarter.

Preliminary design has been received from TCDRI for the structure of the preheater, calciner, clinker cooler and art baghouse.

As some of the old equipment will be replaced with the new equipment, therefore, contracts have been awarded for the dismantling of the existing old equipment which is replaced with the new equipment and dismantling will start in this quarter.

Steel structure drawings for the new civil buildings are scheduled to be completed this quarter and thereafter, the related procurement and fabrication process will start.

Shipments of the imported plant & machinery will commence before the year-end and hopefully will be completed in the first quarter after the year-end i.e., June 30, 2022. The commercial production is scheduled to be started after six months of the last shipment.

The report also added that the suspension of commercial production in operations of the plant is not attributable to any intentional default or mala fide of the company. Rather, it is done as a logical step to embark upon the execution of the BMR. After the BMR, the company shall attain production efficiencies for long term financial viability, ensure environmental compliance and increase the operable life of the plant.

Moreover, the report has emphasized that currently, the new sponsors are working hard for the revival of the company.

In view of the above, the management of the company has requested PSX to take a lenient view and reconsider the step of PSX in placing the company's name in the Defaulter's Segment.

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