Tanzania/Kenya: Savannah Clinker has abandoned its US$198m bid to acquire Bamburi Cement, leaving Tanzania-based Amsons Group as the sole bidder with an offer of US$168m. The withdrawal followed the exit of Savannah Clinker s financier, Global Infrastructure Finance & Development Authority, due to the arrest of chair Savannah Ndeta on suspicion of fraud and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) declining a 60-day extension request. A spokesperson for Savannah Clinker said "The withdrawal of the competing offer has been occasioned by the recent well-publicised arrest and indictment of the chair and main shareholder of Savannah, Benson Ndeta, which has led to the financier of the competing offer seeking additional due diligence. This is further compounded by the CMA s decision to decline a request made on 2 December 2024 to extend the offer period by 60 days." /Global Cement

India: Ambuja Cements has started a strategic partnership with Finland-based Coolbrook to use its RotoDynamic Heater (RDH). The technology uses renewably powered electrical heat to replace or reduce the amount of fossil fuels used for reaching high temperatures in cement kiln pre-calciners. No indication of the price or which cement plants will be upgraded with the equipment has been disclosed. The deal is intended to help Ambuja Cements meet its targets of reaching an alternative fuels thermal substitution rate of 28% and a renewable energy rate of 60% by 2028. Ajay Kapur, CEO - Cement Business, Adani Group, said, “We continuously seek out innovations which drive efficiency and decarbonisation across our cement manufacturing value chain. Leveraging our Adani Group s green power generation capabilities, we will be able to reduce fossil fuel dependence, costs, and emissions, ultimately delivering the best value for our stakeholders.” /Global Cement

Armenia: The Armenian government has extended restrictions on the import of cement and clinker from Iran and other countries for another six months on 28 November 2024.The restrictions were first adopted on 13 January 2022 and have been repeatedly extended since then. The latest decision takes effect on 20 January 2025 and is valid until 20 July 2025.As a result, domestic cement production increased to 1.14Mt in 2023, a rise of 13% year-on-year, while clinker imports rose by 125,200t (19%) and cement imports increased to approximately 270,000t. During the first eight months of 2024, cement imports rose to 305,100t, a 260% increase compared to the same period in 2023, due to lower Iranian cement price. Concurrently, local cement production declined by 31% to 485,900t in the first half of 2024/Global Cement

Iran: Ali Akbar Alvandian, the Secretary of the Cement Industry Employers Association, says that cement plants have been forced to cut production due to a shortage of gas. He said that plant s near cities had been forced to halve production, according to comments made to the ILNA news agency. Plants in the countryside, however, have been able to cope better by using mazut heavy fuel oil. In addition cement companies were also negatively affected by electricity rationing over the summer. At its peak, in August 2024, 70% of kilns were closed. Despite these issues there have been no significant changes in the price of cement due to the country s use of commodity exchanges. However, exports have decreased by 17% year-on-year in the first seven months of the year. Most of the country s clinker is exported to Iraq, Kuwait and India. The main destinations for cement include Afghanistan, Russia, Kuwait, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Pakistan. /Global Cement

Iraq: Sinoma International Engineering, China s largest provider of cement engineering services, has secured a US$351.5m engineering procurement contract to build a 1000MW solar power plant in Iraq for Mass Renewable Energy Production, part of the Mass Group which also operates a 6Mt/yr cement plant in Bazian, Iraq. The turnkey contract, to be built in Al-Kut, will take 21 months to build, leading to completion by the third quarter of 2026. /Global Cement

Afghanistan: A joint venture of two local and two China-based companies plans to build a new US$200m, 1Mt/yr-capacity cement plant in Balkh. Afghan state media has reported that the plant will generate 1000 local jobs and reduce the reliance on imports in Northern Afghanistan. /Global Cement

Türkiye: The Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change has initiated a new process for the Integrated Cement Factory and Raw Material Quarries Project in Muğla, which had previously been halted due to local opposition and judicial rulings. A meeting of the Investigation and Evaluation Commission (IAC) is scheduled for 28 November 2024, according to the Ministry s announcement on 6 November 2024. According to Railly News, the project ran into difficulties when construction by local company Muğla Cement Industry and Trade began in 2021. Following environmental concerns, the Muğla 2nd Administrative Court cancelled the construction permit and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) positive decision, citing non-compliance with the law. A request to appeal was denied. In response to these developments, local environmental groups and residents have continued their legal efforts, most recently challenging the designation of the plant area as an Industrial Area in the regional development plan. The case remains pending. /Global Cement

Morocco: Cement deliveries in Morocco reached 11.12Mt from January - October 2024, up by 8% compared to the same period in 2023. The Moroccan Cement Association (APC) reported that cement sales in October 2024 increased to 1.3Mt, a 20% rise from 1.08Mt in October 2023. The APC has attributed this growth to high demand across various construction segments. /Global Cement

Tanzania/Kenya: Amsons Group will build a US$320m cement plant in northern Tanzania s Tanga area with a production capacity of 5,000t/day, Bloomberg reports. The company also plans to implement a major upgrade at the recently acquired Mbeya Cement in Tanzania, including a new grinding mill, according to Capital News Kenya. Additionally, Amsons plans to invest US$400m in Holcim s Kenyan subsidiary Bamburi Cement, contingent on its successful US$180m bid. Edha Nahdi, managing director at Amsons Group, said "Thanks to the support of the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments, our regional expansion plans are now firmly on course. We plan to be one of the largest cement manufacturers in Kenya and Tanzania by 2030." /Global Cement

Oman: Oman Cement has reported a net profit after tax of US$23.1m for the first nine months of 2024. This represented a 20.2% rise compared to the US$19.2m that the company made in the first nine months of 2023. Oman Cement’s revenue for the first nine months of 2024 was US$136.4m, a 2.9% fall compared to the US$140.5m it recorded in the same period of 2023. /Global Cement

Zimbabwe: Bulawayo City Council has granted approval for China-based Labenmon Investments to establish a grinding plant, expected to employ over 500 people, at Umvumila Industrial Park. Once operational, the facility will produce 900,000t/yr of cement, and plans to export to regional markets including Zambia, Botswana, and Mozambique. The grinding plant was previously planned for Cowdray Park, also in Bulawayo, but the application was rejected in July 2024. The council report reads “The establishment of a cement mixing plant is expected to benefit Bulawayo Metropolitan Province and other provinces in many ways, such as increased supply of cement, employment for more than 500 local people, increased export earnings for the province, enhanced technology and better equipment for the domestic cement industry in Zimbabwe.” /Global Cement

Egypt: Starting in October 2024, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources will centralise distribution of mazut to cement plants to ensure continued operations amidst the country s power shortages. Deputy PM Kamel El Wazir announced the plan, responding to requests from cement producers for a reliable fuel supply to maintain the stable production and distribution of cement. Cement plants are required to submit a report on quarry material prices over the past three years, highlighting price increases and their impact on the industry. The Cement Division of the Building Materials Industry Chamber also requested consistent export support payments, the extension of investor rights to quarry resources, and the testing of pozzolanic cement for standard compliance. /Global Cement

Kyrgyzstan: MP Alisher Kozuyev has called for the removal of the ban on importing Uzbek cement, stating during a parliamentary committee meeting on 24 September 2024 that it would reduce prices and enhance quality for Kyrgyz consumers by increasing market competition. He argued that the current ban supports local monopolies and raises domestic cement prices. The ban was introduced three months ago and is designed to protect local manufacturers, according to officials. Nonetheless, deputy minister of economy and commerce, Choro Seyitov, warned that cheaper Uzbek cement could threaten local industries, especially in the Osh region, and risk jobs and tax revenue. Seyitov also noted that some Uzbek cement does not meet Kyrgyz standards and certification requirements, and accused Uzbek exporters of price dumping./ Global Cement

Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement Company has ordered a crossbelt analyser for stockpile optimisation and an airslide analyser for raw mill control from SpectraFlow for its new Line 3 project at the Jazan cement plant. The new line will have a capacity of 5000t/day of clinker. /Global Cement

India: Indian cement manufacturers plan to invest approximately US$14.3bn over the next four years to increase capacity by 25%, adding 160-170Mt/yr of cement production, reports the Times of Oman newspaper. This expansion is reportedly driven by rising domestic demand and a significant infrastructure push by the government, with plans to invest US$1.7tn in infrastructure projects by 2030. The industry aims to fund this growth primarily through internal accruals, reducing reliance on debt. The top three producers —Ultratech, Ambuja, and Shree Cement — will reportedly contribute over 70% of the total capacity increase. /Global Cement