Lafarge, a world leading cement maker, has opened a 110-million-yuan gypsum plant in Chengdu in Sichuan Province.

The new plant will produce 20 million sq m of plasterboard annually, in a start-up which represents Lafarge's commitment to local manufacturing in its two Sichuan business divisions: cement and gypsum.

"We made our way to southwest China in 2001 to establish our operation in Chongqing We feel duty-bound to do our bit in post-disaster reconstruction, and we are convinced that the big environment of Sichuan's economy will quickly recover after the natural disaster," said Christian Devillers from Lafarge Gypsum talking about the timings of the Chengdu plant completions announcement.

The French company said the plasterboard based construction presents strong resistance against earthquakes, as it can reduce the overall weight of buildings and minimize the impact of the quake.

Until now plasterboards have been widely used in major cities like Chengdu but not in second-tier cities like those that have been hit by the May 12 earthquake, said Devillers.

This investment will increase Lafarge Gypsum China's capacity from current levels of approximately 50 million to more than 70 million sq m. It also enables Lafarge Gypsum China to expand its leading position in western China where it first began local manufacturing from Chongqing in 2001.

As early as in 2002, Lafarge established a plant in Dujiangyan to expand its cement business.

(China Daily June 21, 2008)