FEASIBILITY STUDIES
JAMCEM works with Clients to provide a complete Feasibility Study for both new entrants to a market as well as major upgrades and new cement plants for an existing cement producer.
The starting point for any feasibility study is the market study, examining the current and future market demand, the existing competitors in the market and their capacity, whether the market is a net import or export market, types of cement sold in the market and an estimate of the cost of production and cost to market of the current producers. This allows the market attractiveness and potential profitability to be assessed and leads to a decision on whether to proceed and if so, the capacity of the plant that the market could support.
Local regulations and laws can often present barriers to entry and these include ownership, environmental or employment regulations which are all reviewed within the feasibility study. In some cases, local regulations may actually provide an opportunity for the new producer – for example by encouraging the installing a low cost production plant where the other producers use older, higher cost technology.
JAMCEMs Raw Materials Services are used within a feasibility study to identify the necessary primary and secondary materials. This critical information will be used, along with other inputs such as fuel and power source, to start to build the operating cost model, taking into account all of the elements of both variable and fixed cost for the plant. These costs are then cross-checked with the information from the market study, comparing the calculated cost of production with the estimated costs of current producers to identify the competitiveness of the new plant as well as any adjustments that need to be made to the plant concept and type.
The conceptual design of the plant can then be completed and the baseline operating parameters agreed. The basic equipment is defined as well as the specific items such as the size of the storage for raw materials, clinker, cement and fuels. Different types of project execution strategies are considered as well as types of equipment supplier. Finally, the capital cost of the project is estimated which, with the operating cost information, is fed into the financial model for the plant.
JAMCEMs resources have completed numerous such studies working for local and multi-national cement manufacturers. This experience can make the difference between a successful project with maximised profits and an average project with minimal returns.