Displaying items by tag: land

US: The board of supervisors of the Pennsylvania township of Salem has approved Daniels Concrete’s construction of its Salem ready-mix concrete batching plant. This is despite a 5m encroachment onto allotted road setback space under transport rules. Under normal permitting processes, proprietors would need to prove special ‘hardship’ in order to be exempted from the restriction. Local press has reported that planning commissioners referred the matter to the board of supervisors given that the plant has operated ‘for years’ without permits.

Malaysia: Concrete Engineering Products is seeking a buyer for its Bangsar site in Kuala Lumpur. Reuters has reported that the company anticipates a one-time gain of US$556m as a result.

India: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has released new guidelines for ready-mix concrete plants situated in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The Free Press Journal newspaper has reported that the new guidelines require new static plants within municipal limits to obtain special MPCB approval, while new and existing plants outside of municipal limits must establish a 500m buffer zone. New ready-mix concrete plants at building sites must have a minimum project area of 2000m² and existing ones must fully enclose their operations. Plants at building sites must dismantle their operations within a month after completing 70% of works at the site. Operators of ready-mix concrete plants in MMR must additionally provide new bank guarantees in favour of the MPCB.

The move purportedly aims to reduce air pollution in Mumbai. 11 of 26 monitoring stations in the city recorded poor air quality on 2 December 2024. Poor air quality indicates a high concentration of PM2.5 or PM10 inhalable particulate matter, which are present in smog.

US: A Licking County court has upheld the county council’s decision to deny a permit for Shelly Co. to build a ready-mix concrete batching plant near Alexandria. The company’s proposal also included the construction of an asphalt mixing plant at the site in Ohio. Local press has reported that Shelly Co. failed in its attempt to argue that floodplain regulations did not apply to the site due to its historical use as an aggregates quarry.

Canada: Clark Brothers Contracting has received conditional approval from the council of Wellington North Township to build a ready-mix concrete plant in the town in Ontario. Local press has reported that the plans will be subject to review by the Wellington County Land Division Committee in September 2024.

India: The Haryana Forest Department has reclaimed 1.2 hectares of woodland in Basai, Haryana, from the Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). The Times of India newspaper has reported that the GDMA had allotted the land to a proposed ready-mix concrete plant project. The land was reportedly subject to no official agreement as to its use, raising fears of unlawful development.

The Haryana Forest Department said "The reclamation of this forest land is a significant conservation effort for Gurgaon. It sends a clear message that the protection of natural habitats is top priority for us and no kind of encroachment on protected land will be tolerated."

Colombia: Cemex has announced the launch of the Tunjuelo Circularity Centre at its former Tunjuelo quarry near Bogotá. Having rebuilt parts of the 50m-deep quarry with demolition waste, Cemex will now work on its ecological restoration, while continuing to receive excavation waste for reconstruction of the ground. It will meanwhile divert demolition waste deliveries for recycling in aggregate production. In Bogotá, Cemex has launched an initiative for urban construction partnerships in collaboration with local authorities. It will also collect municipal solid waste (MSW) there for use in its cement production and collect its used plastic cement bags for recycling in building materials production.

Cemex’s Colombia and Peru president Alejandro Ramírez said "This is a pioneering model for Cemex in the construction materials industry globally, which we aim to position as a benchmark for circularity within the sustainable development of large cities in Colombia and the world. A piece of land that supplied materials for Bogotá's development for decades has received construction and demolition waste for its redevelopment and was transformed into a green area to the south of the city, an epicenter of the circular economy and an opportunity for urban development for the capital city of Colombia."