20 November 2024

Zambia: China Zambia De Jin Xin Cement plans to invest US$170m in the Zambian economy to build a cement plant, a power plant, a mine and a high calcium powder plant, according to ZNBC. The construction is expected to begin in November 2025, according to the company's director, Jianbao Zhao. This investment will reportedly create over 1000 jobs during the construction phase and more than 500 permanent positions once operational.

Saudi Arabia: Al Jouf Cement Company has signed a power purchase agreement with ENGIE to develop a 22MW solar photovoltaic plant at Al Jouf Cement’s facility in Turaif, Northern Borders Province. The plant will provide on-site power generation and help to decarbonise Al Jouf Cement's operations over the project’s 25-year lifespan. The solar photovoltaic installation will span over 420,000m² and is expected to reduce the plant’s carbon footprint. ENGIE will handle the development, design, construction, ownership and operation of the solar plant.

Spain: Cement consumption in Spain has seen a cumulative increase of 1.3% in the first 10 months of 2024, compared to a decline of 0.5% at the end of the third quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from Oficemen. This increase is largely due to 14.5% growth in October 2024 consumption compared to the same month a year earlier, reaching 1.37Mt, the highest since 2019. Despite the domestic gains, cement exports fell by 1% in October 2024 to 0.41Mt, contributing to a 13% decline in the cumulative annual data up to October 2024. Since November 2023, exports have decreased by 16%, totalling 0.47Mt.

Oficemen’s general manager Aniceto Zaragoza said "These positive figures are in line with the forecasts that we made at the beginning of 2024, when we were expecting a moderate recovery in the final stretch of the year."

Pakistan: Kohat Cement Company has installed and commissioned a 5.34MW on-grid solar power plant, according to the Business Recorder. This new facility adds to the existing 10MW solar power plant at the same location.

India: Around 67t of non-recyclable materials collected from the city of Ernakulam have been sent to cement plants as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for the plant’s processes, according to October 2024 estimates. 36t/day of materials from local bodies and an additional 27t/day from Clean Kerala Company facilities are handed over to cement plants, with private facilities contributing 3.9t. The waste generated in households and commercial establishments was sorted at material collection facilities and resource recovery units managed by local bodies, before being used for energy generation in cement manufacturing. Haritha Karma Sena volunteers manage the collection of non-biodegradable materials from households and shops, directing these materials to nearly 15 cement plants across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat for co-processing.