Afghanistan: The government s Mines and Petroleum Ministry has awarded a contract for construction of a new 1Mt/yr cement plant in Kandahar Province. Bakhtar News Agency has reported that the project will have a budget of US$100m. /Global Cement

Canada/UAE: Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) producer Carbon Upcycling Technologies has signed a strategic partnership agreement with technical consultancy A3&Co. The partners will now work towards the delivery of an SCM enhancement reactor that bolts on to existing cement plant equipment. Canada-based Carbon Upcycling Technologies expects to be able to offer the technology to global cement industry customers by March 2025. Carbon Upcycling Technologies CEO Apoorv Sinha said "We look forward to collaborating with A3&Co. Their extensive experience working with over 125 facilities across the globe will prove invaluable as we continue to adapt our technology for seamless integration at cement plants, enabling onsite sequestration and utilisation of CO2." /Global Cement

Uzbekistan: A total of 14.6Mt of cement was produced in 2022, equivalent to 415kg/capita. The world average was 519kg/capita. Production rose by 69.3% between 2017 and 2022, in line with a 71.5% increase in construction rates. /Global Cement

Pakistan: Cement consumption fell by 7.1% year-on-year in February 2023 with total dispatches reaching 4.04Mt against 4.35Mt dispatched in February 2022. According to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement dispatches by the industry during February 2023 were 3.59Mt compared to 3.94Mt in February 2022, a decline of 9%. Exports increased by 11%, as volumes rose from 405,489t in February 2022 to 449,940t in February 2023. In February 2023, cement plants in the north of Pakistan dispatched a total of 3.01Mt of cement, down by 7.4% against 3.26Mt in February 2022. Cement plants in the south of Pakistan dispatched 1.03Mt during February 2023, 6.1% less than 1.09Mt during February 2022. Northern cement plants supplied 2.95Mt to the domestic market, an 8.3% fall, while southern plants sold 640,645t, a 12.0% fall. Exports from the north rose by 58.2% as quantities increased to 64,717t. Exports from the south increased by 5.7% to 385,223t. An APCMA spokesperson said that the economic situation in the country was becoming more complicated with each passing day. “We are facing serious operational problems. We need timely supply of spare parts and consumable items to ensure stable operation of our plants and we urge the government to come-up with practically applicable and industry friendly policies to enable the industry to come out of this difficult situation. /Global Cement

India: Orient Cement says that it has mutually terminated a memorandum of understanding with Adani Group subsidiary Adani Power Maharashtra for a sublease of land in Tiroda in Maharashtra. Orient Cement had planned to establish a grinding plant on the land. It is located at the site of Adani Power Maharashtra s Tiroda coal-fired power plant and belongs to the state-owned Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. The parties signed the agreement in September 2021. The reason for termination was the parties failure to meet its conditions, even despite extensions beyond the stipulated 365-day period in which to do so. /Global Cement

Algeria: The GICA group exported a total of 3Mt of cement in 2022 for a total income of US$106m. Destinations included countries in West Africa, Latin America and Europe. The group is working, through its various subsidiaries, to increase its cement exports as part of the government s strategy aimed at diversifying non-hydrocarbon exports. As part of this, its SCIMAT subsidiary recently obtained ISO 45001 and ISO 50001 certificates relating to health and safety and energy management standards to help it increase exports to the EU and US. /Global Cement

Bangladesh: Aman Cement has held a ceremony to launch a second 5000t/day vertical roller mill at its Unit 2 Siragonj grinding plant in Narayangonj. The plant now has a total production capacity of 10,000t/day, according to the Daily Star newspaper. Germany-based Loesche previously supplied the first mill for the plant. /Global Cement

Bangladesh: The European Union (EU) and Spanish ambassadors and Swiss chargé d affaires to Bangladesh have formally requested that Bangladeshi authorities lift all restrictions on LafargeHolcim Bangladesh s sale of crushed limestone in the country. The Financial Express newspaper has reported that Bangladeshi court previously ruled in favour of LafargeHolcim Bangladesh s right to sell its crushed limestone on the open market on 5 January 2022. Limestone Importers and Suppliers Group had challenged the legal status of such sales, given that the raw limestone used in LafargeHolcim Bangladesh s produces its crushed limestone production is imported from India. The Bangladesh government granted LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim, a temporary licence to resume its crushed limestone operations on 27 March 2022. This resulted in protests by local limestone producers. /Global Cement

Russia: Holcim’s divested Russian business has rebranded as Cementum. Local management concluded a deal to buy the company from Switzerland-based Holcim in December 2022. The new ownership agreed to change the name upon completion of the transaction. Holcim Russia had been operating as a deconsolidated subsidiary of Holcim since March 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. / Global Cement

Algeria: The National Centre for Cleaner Production Technologies (CNTPP) has signed a cooperation agreement with Lafarge Algeria. The arrangement is intended to provide government assistance towards producing cement more sustainably at the manufacturer s plants, according to Le Quotidien d Oran newspaper. The CNTPP is an organisation setup by the Ministry of Environment to support industrial and commercial companies. /Global Cement

Morocco: NovaCim s new 1.4Mt/yr cement plant at Ouled Ghanem near El Jadida has produced its first cement. Denmark-based FLSmidth supplied equipment for the unit including an OK type vertical roller mill, which it says is the first such installation of the product in the country. FLSmidth said in 2019 that it was going to build the plant for TEKCIM in conjunction with the Société Générale des Travaux du Maroc (SGTM). Full commissioning is scheduled for 2023. /Global Cement

India: Purvanchal Cement plans to invest US$24m in cement acquisitions and new grinding capacity construction projects before 2026. Under the plans, the producer will double its cement production capacity to 1Mt/yr. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the plans include the establishment of a grinding plant in West Bengal and a second new plant with an associated quarry in northern Assam. Purvanchal Cement operates the 0.5Mt/yr Kamrup grinding plant in Assam. /Global Cement

India: Adani Cement has published its plans for the closure of two integrated cement plants in Himachal Pradesh. The Hindustan Times newspaper has reported the plants as ACC s 4.4Mt/yr Gagal cement plant in Bilaspur District and Ambuja Cements 1.6Mt/yr Darlaghat cement plant in Solan District. The management of the Gagal cement plant said that losses ensuing from high operating costs, including transport costs, are the reason behind the decision to shut down that plant. ACC employs 1000 company staff and contractors at the site, and an additional 4000 truck drivers in its cement despatch operations. 3500 truck drivers also work in delivering cement from the Darlaghat cement plant. The Gagal cement plant alone reportedly despatches 5000t/day of cement for the Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab markets. The Bilaspur District Truck Operators Society said "The transport sector of Bilaspur is heavily dependent upon the Gagal cement plant. It s the source of livelihood for thousands of people, including operators, drivers and conductors. This decision should be reconsidered in the interest of the people." It added "Most roadside restaurants and mechanics shops will also lose business. We never thought that this plant could ever stop functioning. It has been part of our landscape and economy for decades now." /Global Cement

Nigeria: The Daily Independent newspaper has reported that BUA Cement is allegedly preparing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against its gas supplier, Greenville Liquefied Natural Gas (Greenville LNG). The supplier reportedly raised prices, as stipulated in the parties gas supply contract, following an increase in its costs. Greenville LNG attributed the increase to the dilapidation of roads and collapse of upstream gas infrastructure due to flooding, as well as a lack of access to imports. It said that none of its 44 other industrial customers has challenged the price change. Greenville LNG chair Eddy Van Den Broeke said It is not a breach of contract because not only are we continuing the gas supply to the BUA cement plant in Sokoto, but also because we are discussing in good faith the changed business and economic conditions that afflict both companies. He concluded In this case, we only activated the contractual price adjustment clause. We cannot explain how it is possible that social media misrepresented so grossly the present circumstances and the conditions of our contract, which were not reflected at all. /Global Cement

Kenya: Savannah Cement has ordered a new US$300m production line from China-based Sinoma international Engineering for its Kitui plant. The project scope covers supplying an integrated clinker production line from limestone crushing to cement packaging and logistics. The line will have a clinker production capacity of 8000t/day. Commissioning of the new line is scheduled for about two years after the contract takes effect. /Global Cement