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Cement makers decry coal shortfall
Officials from Viet Nam National Coal and Mineral Group (Vinacomin) said the group was not responsible for cement producer's insufficient coal supplies.
Viet Nam Cement Corporation (Vicem) said last week that they did not have enough coal to continue producing cement and several plants may have to stop operating because of coal shortage.
Officials from Vinacomin said the Cement Material and Transport Joint Stock Company (Comatce), Vicem's affiliate, that purchases coal for the cement industry, had signed contracts with the group to provide 1.5 million tonnes to the cement group this year.
Under the contract, Vinacomin is scheduled to deliver 350,000 tonnes of coal to the cement industry during the first quarter, 400,000 tonnes during the second, 350,000 tonnes in the third and 400,000 tonnes in the forth.
During the first nine months of the year, the group delivered 1.18 million tonnes of coal to the cement sector, a slight increase compared with the 1.1 million tonnes they were supposed to provide in accordance with the contract.
Representatives from Vinacomin have relied on these facts to argue that they are not responsible for the cement sector's lack of coal. The group will continue to deliver the coal on schedule until the end of this year.
Le Minh Chuan, Vinacomin's Deputy General Director, said coal demand for the cement sector rose 20 per cent this year, from 1.25 million tonnes last year to 1.5 million tonnes.
On September 14, the cement industry asked the group to provide 170,000 more tonnes of coal to the sector during the month, a 50 per cent increase month-on-month, the representative said.
Vinacomin agreed to deliver 112,000 tonnes of coal this month and 100,000 tonnes during the next two months.
The group will provide 5.8-5.9 million tonnes of coal, which will allow Vicem to produce 50 million tonnes of cement this year.
Vinacomin said Vicem should utilise new technical and technological solutions and use coal reasonably to deal with its shortage.
The cement factories should sign contracts to purchase coal before building their factories because if they do not have coal contracts then they would create problems for themselves and coal producers, said a representative from Vinacomin.
vietnamnews
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