Displaying items by tag: Asia

Nepal: Udayapur Cement plant has resumed operations after an eight-month closure, the longest in its recent history, according to local press. The state-owned producer shut down entirely following the Council of Ministers’ 28 May 2025 decision to privatise it, creating uncertainty that halted production. The 800t/day capacity plant, located in Triyuga Municipality–6, Jaljale, has faced frequent shutdowns due to outdated equipment and is currently in significant debt, which the administration expects to reduce through continued operation.

General manager Kovid Kafle said the plant reopened after repairs. The plant had reportedly not provided salaries to its employees during the shutdown, and had only retained 193 out of 533 staff. The producer has requested a US$1.7m loan from the government, proposing to repay it within three years with interest.

India: JK Lakshmi Cement will invest US$203m to expand clinker and cement capacity in Chhattisgarh, as it looks to strengthen its position in eastern and central India. The company signed a memorandum of understanding for the project during the Chhattisgarh Investor Connect event on 25 November 2025. JK Lakshmi currently operates 16.5Mt/yr of capacity, and will add 2.31Mt/yr of clinker capacity and 1.2Mt/yr of cement capacity as part of the expansion.

“Chhattisgarh has been central to our manufacturing strategy, and this investment strengthens our ability to serve eastern and central India with reliable, efficient capacity,” said deputy managing director Shrivats Singhania.

China: Inner Mongolia Jidong Cement will shut down one 4000t/day clinker line as part of a capacity replacement programme, with its quota redistributed across two other production lines. According to the company, another 4000t/day line belonging to the company will be replaced with 2200t/day of capacity, bringing the adjusted total to 6200t/day.

Malaysia: YTL Cement has received environmental product declarations (EPDs) covering products across its cement, concrete and precast ranges. An EPD is a third-party-verified document that discloses a product’s environmental impact throughout its full life cycle in line with international standards. The newly certified products include the Castle Cement brand, as well as ECOConcrete Grade 40 and Grade 35.

India: Building materials producer BirlaNu has announced that it will build a greenfield fibre cement board plant in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The producer will invest about US$14.2m in the first phase to establish the unit, which is expected to create about 600 jobs, according to local press. The plant will use fly ash from coal-fired power plants.

Managing director and CEO Akshat Seth said “Our new fibre cement board plant in Nellore marks an important milestone in BirlaNu’s expansion journey. It strengthens our manufacturing footprint and generates meaningful employment.”

Pakistan: Cement export earnings rose to US$42.6m in October 2025, the highest monthly level in 11 years, according to brokerage firm Topline Securities. The rise reflects renewed export momentum attributed to supply-side disruption from European exporting markets. Export despatches fell by 23% year-on-year to 827,000t from 1.08Mt in October 2024, while total cement despatches rose by 6% to 4.75Mt and local dispatches rose by 15% to 3.93Mt, according to data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). This was reportedly driven by strong domestic demand despite the continued drop in export volumes.

India: Cement producers saw strong sales in the second quarter of the 2026 Fiscal Year (FY2026), due to steady prices and higher sales volumes. Seasonal weakness and maintenance outages did dent performance, but the overall picture remained positive, according to the Business Standard newspaper.

Centrum Broking said that results pointed to 4 - 5% year-on-year demand growth in the second quarter despite weather-related interruptions. Stronger rural activity and ongoing construction kept consumption buoyant. Meanwhile, JM Financial reported that like-for-like cement volumes grew by 7%. Adjusted for acquisitions, consolidated volumes at UltraTech Cement and Ambuja Cements also rose by 7%, while JK Cement saw a 15.1% increase, driven by capacity increases and a higher capacity utilisation rate.

India: Adani-led Adani Enterprises has reportedly beaten Vedanta in the race to take over the debt-laden Jaiprakash Associates, despite Vedanta placing the highest overall bid in an electronic auction, according to local media.

Jaiprakash Associates is the flagship arm of the Jaypee Group, with interests across cement production, power generation, engineering, hospitality, real estate and sports infrastructure. Its creditors unanimously voted in favour of Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises’ resolution plan, as it proposed higher upfront payments. Despite voting for Adani’s plan, some creditors did question the pre-bidding process, which reportedly gave Adani a perfect 100% score across a range of factors to assess its suitability.

India: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) India said that the cement industry has installed 1.8GW of renewable energy capacity and aims to add 5GW more by 2030, according to Platts. Around 3% of electricity used comes from renewables and 11% from waste heat recovery. GCCA India said that the average alternative fuel thermal substitution rate (TSR) in the sector is approximately 6%, although some plants have successfully achieved TSRs of more than 20%. It also said that there are developments in the installations of hybrid energy systems, which provide 24/7 electricity for the sector.

Blended cement accounts for 73% of production, and India has reportedly begun producing limestone calcined clay cement. Research is also underway into other low-clinker alternatives. According to a March 2025 report by GCCA India and The Energy and Resources Institute, the industry aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. CRISIL forecasts that the sector will add 160-170Mt/yr of grinding capacity between the financial years 2026-2028, which run from April to March, driven by a healthy demand outlook and high capacity utilisation.

Thailand: SCG Cleanergy and US-based Rondo Energy have launched a new 33MWh thermal battery integrated with SCG’s cement plant’s heat recovery system in Saraburi province. The system delivers 2.3MWth of continuous steam to the plant’s turbine, increasing output and enabling 24/7 electricity and process-heat supply. It also stores electrical energy as high-temperature heat in refractory materials and can reach 1500°C. CEO Eric Trusiewicz said the system was built in eight months. Rondo said that the installation is the world’s first commercial heat battery at a cement plant, and that it plans to scale further.