Displaying items by tag: Capacity

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.

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 via S&P Global. 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.

Egypt: Cement exports recorded their first decline in five years in the first nine months of 2025, falling by 5% year-on-year, according to Business News Africa. Exports were 14.5Mt, down from 15.3Mt in the same period in 2024. The decline follows the suspension of regulations that had allowed producers to reduce their capacity by 10% annually and instructed companies to prioritise local sales. The decision was halted for two months in May 2025, roughly five months before the dip in exports. Exports were only permitted for surplus quantities.

The policy had initially been introduced by the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) in 2021, after producers complained of heavy losses due to low demand and depressed prices. Production rose to 47.8Mt from January to September 2025, up by nearly 20% year-on-year, with local sales rising to 39.2Mt and clinker output rose to 45Mt from 42Mt.

Head of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce’s Cement Division Ahmed El-Zaini said “Egypt’s exports were only 3-4Mt/yr five years ago but surged to 20Mt/yr in 2024, largely at the expense of domestic supply.”

Pakistan: Maple Leaf Cement has announced a potential acquisition of Pioneer Cement, which, if realised, would elevate it to being the second-largest cement producer in the north of Pakistan, raising its capacity from 8Mt/yr to 13Mt/yr.

Maple Leaf Cement and its subsidiary Maple Leaf Capital jointly hold an 18.6% stake in Pioneer Cement, while Habibullah Group owns ~58%. The remaining 23.4% is owned by small private investors.

Egypt: Titan Egypt, a subsidiary of Greece-based Titan Group, plans to invest US$63.5m over the next two years to expand production capacity and increase the use of alternative fuels to reduce costs, according to CEO Amr Reda.

The company operates two cement plants in Beni Suef and Alexandria with a combined capacity of 4.5Mt/yr, which will rise to 5.5Mt/yr following the planned expansions. Titan Egypt currently exports 30% of its production. Exports were 550,000t in 2024, with targets of 850,000t by the end of 2025 and 1Mt in 2026. Key export markets include Libya, Syria, Europe, the US and West Africa, alongside reconstruction projects in Gaza and Sudan.

Tajikistan: The country produced 3.7Mt of cement between January and September 2025, up by 512,000t or 16% year-on-year, according to the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade forecasts further growth, with production expected to reach 4.62Mt in 2026 and 4.82Mt in 2027, a 4% annual rise. Tajikistan has 16 cement plants, with more than 80% of total output coming from three Tajik-Chinese joint ventures: Jungtsai Mohir Cement, Huaxin Gayur Cement and Huaxin Gayur Sughd Cement.

New capacity is also under development. Orion Invest is building a 1.8Mt/yr cement plant in the Qubodiyon district of Khatlon province, which will reportedly become the largest facility in the country upon completion. The current largest producer is Tojikcement, near Dushanbe, which opened in 2023 with a 1.2Mt/yr capacity.

India: NCL Industries has commissioned its new cement grinding plant at Thallapalem, near Anakapalle. The greenfield facility was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma. It adds 660,000t/yr to the company’s total cement capacity, now at 4Mt/yr. Built at an estimated cost of US$28m, the 16-hectare plant will produce ‘eco-friendly’ cement and create around 250 direct and indirect jobs, according to The Times of India. The plant features vertical roller mills supplied by Loesche and will be powered by a 5MW captive solar plant currently under construction.

Vice chair K Ravi said “This facility reinforces our commitment to operational efficiency, product quality and customer trust. With this addition, we are well-positioned to meet rising demand and support India’s infrastructure growth with reliable building materials.”

Uzbekistan: The Uzpromstroymaterialy Association reported that national cement production was 18Mt between January and September 2025, up by 28% year-on-year. Total installed capacity is now 40.5Mt/yr across 42 enterprises, an increase of 0.7Mt/yr from 2024. The rise in production of high-quality grades such as M-500 and M-600 cement led to an 89% decline in imports, which totalled 66,000t in the first nine months of 2025. Imports for the first half of 2025 were 38,000t, down by 91% from 2024.

Cement exports in the first nine months of 2025 were nearly 1.1Mt, almost four times higher than in the same period of 2024. The association said that the CIS free trade regime is supporting the expansion of foreign markets for Uzbek producers, while imports from CIS countries remain duty-free. It said that the competitiveness of domestic producers, their strong supply to the local market and rising export potential are strengthening Uzbekistan’s economic independence.

Afghanistan: Ghori Cement Factory in Baghlan has more than doubled its daily cement production from 250-300t to 700t, according to Shafiullah Wahidi, head of the plant. He said that both the first and second units are operating normally, while construction of the third unit is ‘progressing rapidly’. Wahidi said that a third unit will be completed within 18 months, at an estimated cost of US$86m, increasing the plant’s total production capacity to 5000t/day.