Brian Nearing is reporting in the Times Union the rebuilding of the Lafarge cement plant on Route 9W in Ravena will move ahead days after an announcement that the parent company, a French multinational conglomerate, will be sold to a Swiss rival. The project will begin Fri., Apr. 11, less than one week after Lafarge announced the company was being acquired by the Zurich-based multinational company Holcim. The rebuilding is part of a 2010 settlement with state and federal officials to dramatically reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide at plants in Ravena and elsewhere in the state. Two kilns that date from the 1950s will be replaced by a modern kiln with advanced pollution controls. The new plant is expected to be running by mid-2017. The merger of Lafarge and Holcim will create the world's biggest cement maker, with $44 billion in annual sales and operations in 90 countries. There are two cement plants located in the state of New York: The Ravena plant and the Lehigh Northeast plant in Glens Falls. Read the full story in the Times Union.