Successful AICCE25 in Jordan
The 25th Arab International Cement Conference and Exhibition (AICCE) was held in Amman/Jordan from November 08 to 10, 2022.
At the inauguration ceremony AUCBM Secretary General Eng. Ahmad Al-Rousan welcomed about 600 delegates from 36 countries. The Arab Union for Cement and Building Materials (AUCBM) is an inter-Arab organization, affiliated to the Council of Arab Economic Unity. The conference is organised the Arab Union for Cement and Building Materials (AUCBM), under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein.
On behalf of His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein the opening speech was held by HE Yousef Al-Shamali, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, emphasizing the importance of the AICCE as a platform to present the progress of the Arab cement industry to an international audience. Part of the Jordanian government’s commitment is to support and develop various industries encouraging public-private sector partnerships to use available opportunities and to keep up with economic and administrative developments.
HH Prince Naif bin Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Kabir, AUCBM President, described the Arab cement industry’s developments over the past few decades, with the production capacity of cement factories reaching more than 390 million t annually.
As in other regions the cement industry is on the road to recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and regional conflicts. On the AUCBM’s environmental efforts, the Prince pointed out that the AUCBM participated in preparing the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s 2050 roadmap to reduce carbon emissions, preserve the environment and sustain the cement industry.
After the opening ceremony of the conference, the accompanying exhibition was formally opened. This year’s exhibition space was set on two floors, with around 100 companies covering 115 stands on an area of 841 m2. As usual the exhibition area was the main meeting place for the numerous contacts between exhibitors and visitors, technicians and sellers. The companies’ booths as well as the meeting areas during the breaks offered a perfect opportunity for informative exchange and networking.
Simultaneously with the conference and exhibition, the AUCBM’s 78th Board of Directors’ and the 43rd General Assembly meetings were held. On the second day the event was complemented by a gala dinner giving the delegates another excellent opportunity for an informal exchange and lively talks.
The extensive program of the three-day conference included six sessions with a total of 47 presentations. Papers dealt with topics covering process optimization as kiln or grinding technologies, elevator or packaging solutions etc. In addition a lot of contributions also related to alternative fuels, alternative raw materials, energy saving methods and carbon emissions reduction.
Dr. Andrew Minson, Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), for example presented the “Net Zero transition”, the GCCA 2050 Net Zero Cement & Concrete roadmap, the sector’s response to the global challenge, showing projects from around the world, with GCCA member involvement and technology advances also shown.
The “MENA Decarbonization Roadmap: The Road to Green Construction” was described by Amr Nader, A3&Co.®. Simultaneously reducing carbon and reducing costs is the goal of the cooperation with the WCA to support cement producers with the efforts of a net zero transition.
Mark Mutter, Jamcem Consulting, presented the “Current status of CO2 reduction strategies” covering products, strategies and technologies being developed and their impact on CO2 emissions. In addition, the impact of emissions trading schemes were discussed as well as the potential for adapting the solutions for the MENA region.
Dirk Lechtenberg, MVW Lechtenberg and Partner GmbH, described how “Saudi Arabia switches to alternative fuels – The first RDF production is in operation”, a joint venture of the Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC) and Green Environmental Solutions (a subsidiary of the City Cement Company). The plant commissioned by the Saudi Arabian MVW Lechtenberg and Partner subsidiary, named MVW Lechtenberg Middle East in Riyadh, processes about 600 t of househould waste per day.
At the end of the conference the next 26th edition of AICCE was put in view for November 2023.
