Displaying items by tag: Investment

The second quarter of 2025 saw Russian GDP growth slow to 1.1% year-on-year, with a revised full-year growth forecast of 0.9%.¹ An economy bulked up on injections of military spending (budgeted at 33% of GDP in 2025)² since the invasion of Ukraine may slowly be keeling over. Faced with this eventuality, the Russian cement industry will likely be reviewing strategies not to be dragged down with the rest of the economy.

Prior to the release of the latest economic data, Russian construction had been forecast to grow at a CAGR of 2.5% in 2026 – 2029. Drivers included anticipated investments in oil and gas, transport, airports and renewable energy.

Purely in cement terms, the data no longer appear to corroborate this outlook. Market leader Cemros expects total domestic demand to drop from 67Mt in 2024, by 10 – 15% year-on-year, to 57 – 60.3Mt in 2025. In the first half of the year, Russia consumed 28.4Mt of cement, just 4% above production volumes of 27.2Mt in the same period. Cemros cited ‘declining cement consumption’ to account for its upcoming instigation of a four-day working week at its plants across Russia from October 2025.

On 12 August 2025, Cemros spoke out about a threat to the interests of the domestic industry: increased imports from Belarus. It said that Belarus’ three-plant industry is supplying Russia with cement at a rate equivalent to the combined production volumes of two-to-three cement plants. Time to cap them, it told the government, suggesting a ceiling of 1.5Mt/yr.
The producer may have received a shock on 18 August 2025, when Belarus-based Krasnoselskstroymaterialy announced an upcoming US$100m upgrade to its 700,000t/yr Vaŭkavysk cement plant in Grobno Oblast, Belarus.

By that time, the Russian cement association, Soyuzcement, had already called for an anti-dumping investigation into all cement imports. It expects that import volumes of 3.74Mt in 2024 may rise to 5Mt/yr ‘in the near-term future.’

Lingering behind these discussions is the fact of high operating costs, partly precipitated by Russia’s continuing burden of international sanctions.

Here, the cement sector’s hopes are riding on a very particular marketing campaign: that of President Vladimir Putin on the global diplomatic circuit. He must sell his war (or peace on his terms) in a way that fends off increased international sanctions or support for Ukraine. Existing sanctions were on show at the Alaska Summit in Anchorage, US, on 15 August 2025, where the Russian leader made his pitch to US President Donald Trump – including a request for de-sanctioning, alongside various proposed punishment measures against Ukraine. Before travelling back to Moscow, the Russian delegation reportedly had to offer to pay cash for aeroplane fuel.³

Though President Trump did not secure a ceasefire, he nonetheless held back from making good on threatened new sanctions, and rated the Alaska Summit ‘10/10.’⁴ Putin might be equally pleased with the inconclusive outcome as precisely the goal of all his obfuscations. For Russia’s cement producers, costs won’t suddenly rise, but nor will they come down any time soon.

Far from sitting idly by, the industry is seeking new ways to actualise the value of its product. On 20 August 2025, Soyuzcement hosted a meeting of nine producers and four retail chains to strategise ways to increase sales of bagged cement. It will be subject to mandatory digital labelling from 1 October 2025. Discussions included the possibility of batch labelling of bags on the pallet for ease of scanning at retail outlets.

For now, producers’ online media spaces give the impression of work continuing as usual. On 18 August 2025, Cemros announced a US$186,000 renovation of buildings at its Mikhailovsk building materials plant in Volgograd Oblast.

The cement business in Russia is big, established and diffuse. Transformation has been its defining feature in the 33 years since the fall of the USSR, including in the relatively stable latter decades of that period. Should macroeconomic or geopolitical events overtake it once again, we can expect some shapeshifting – but also survival.

References

1. Reuters, ‘Russia's GDP growth slows to 1.1% in Q2, says Rosstat,’ 13 August 2025, www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russias-gdp-growth-slows-11-q2-says-rosstat-2025-08-13/

2. Global Data, ‘Russia Construction Market Size,’ 30 June 2025, www.globaldata.com/store/report/russia-construction-market-analysis/

3. Spiegel, ‘Russen boten Rubio zufolge Barzahlung für Betankung ihrer Flugzeuge an,’ 18 August 2025, www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/trump-putin-gipfel-russen-boten-offensichtlich-barzahlung-fuer-betankung-ihrer-flugzeuge-an-a-fdd9303c-546a-43aa-89dd-4f746b8e9df3

4. Focus, ‘Jäger deutlich: "Putin verkauft Trump eine Illusion - und hat ihn jetzt in der Hand",’ 16 August 2025, www.focus.de/politik/ausland/jaeger-putin-braucht-trump-nicht-zu-fuerchten-er-hat-trump-jetzt-in-der-hand_67785013-a14b-485c-9a4a-51755ec483fa.html

Belarus: Krasnoselskstroymaterialy is preparing a US$100m modernisation project at one of its cement plants and is seeking investment from Chinese companies. CEO Alexander Golda said “A large cement plant modernisation project is currently at its pre-investment stage. We are actively working with Chinese partners, and representatives of several large companies have already visited us with proposals.” He added that work will continue through 2025 ‘and the following years’ before a final decision is made.

The company reduced its net loss by 45% year-on-year to US$9.50m in 2024, while sales grew by 21% to US$139m.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos announced a US$54.5m investment in the state of Mato Grosso, covering expansions and modernisation at its Cuiabá and Nobres plants. Construction will begin in 2025 and finish by late 2026, creating over 150 direct and indirect jobs in the state while retaining more than 700 existing positions.

At Nobres, a new cement mill will boost capacity by 60% from 0.75Mt/yr to 1.2Mt/yr, and the expansion will also add a new storage warehouse and logistics infrastructure. Votorantim Cimentos’ sustainable waste management arm, Verdera, will install a used tyre shredding facility at the Cuiabá site, supplying its kilns with co-processed fuel.

Global CEO Osvaldo Ayres Filho said the investments will “Increase our competitiveness and our production and storage capacity, and improve our efficiency to better serve our customers and the consumer market, while also reducing CO₂ emissions.”

The expansions are part of a comprehensive investment programme by the company, focused on modernisation, capacity growth, competitiveness and decarbonisation. Announced in early 2024, the plan includes US$909m in investments to be deployed by 2028.

Syria: Al-Badia Cement will invest over US$200m to expand its grinding and packaging lines and build a second production line, raising capacity to more than 5Mt/yr, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. Chair of the board Imad Abdul Qader al-Muhaidib said the announcement coincided with the visit of a Saudi delegation of 130 investors, led by Saudi investment minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz al-Falih, to sign bilateral economic agreements.

Rwanda: The government signed a 15-year industrial quarry licence agreement with cement producer Cimerwa on 17 July 2025, paving the way for a US$190m investment in a clinker plant in Musanze District, according to The New Times newspaper. The agreement aims to reduce cement imports, create jobs and support Rwanda’s infrastructure development through sustainable quarrying practices, according to a statement by the Rwanda Development Board.

Cement imports rose by 42% year-on-year to US$94m in 2024 from US$64m previously, according to data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. On 16 July 2025, the Cabinet approved new mineral, quarry and exploration licences to boost mining in the country.

Philippines: Taiheiyo Cement Philippines (TCPI) has said it is on track to open its US$64.9m cement terminal in Calaca, Batangas by early 2026. The facility will produce 0.7Mt/yr of blended cement, increasing the company’s total capacity to 4Mt/yr.

The new terminal forms part of the company’s multi-phase investment programme. TCPI plans to expand its production capacity to 5Mt/yr by 2030, while securing a 10% market share. The Department of Trade and Industry confirmed in a statement that manufacturing will begin in the second quarter of 2026.

Mozambique: Moçambique Dugongo Cimentos will invest US$35m in a third cement plant in Ancuabe, Cabo Delgado province, according to local press. The plant is presumed to be a grinding facility due to the value of the investment. Project coordinator Anselmo Amurane said that the plant’s design is under development, with community consultations completed and environmental assessments pending. The start date for construction was not disclosed.

Amurane said “We hope to contribute to increasing the overall cement supply and production capacity,” adding that the project would employ 900 construction workers and 135 operational workers.

Moçambique Dugongo Cimentos is a joint venture between Mozambique-based SPI Gestão and China-based West International Holding. The plant operates two plants in the cities of Maputo and Nacala.

UK: Holcim UK has welcomed a €33.1m investment by the National Wealth Fund into the Peak Cluster carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, which will decarbonise 40% of the UK’s cement and lime production and support over 2000 existing jobs, as well as creating new ones. Led by Progressive Energy, Peak Cluster is a partnership between Holcim UK, Breedon, Tarmac and Sigma Roc involving cement and lime plants in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, including Holcim UK’s 1Mt/yr Cauldon plant. The project aims to reduce annual carbon emissions from its partners by 3Mt/yr from 2032 (25% of annual CO₂ output for the area), by capturing CO₂ from the plants and transporting it by pipeline to Morecambe Net Zero's disused gas fields under the East Irish Sea.

The investment will fund front-end engineering and design (FEED) and other studies to support a final investment decision in 2028. Holcim UK CEO Lee Sleight said that CCS is ‘essential’ to decarbonise cement manufacturing and achieve net zero by 2050.

Peak Cluster CEO John Egan said it will create a ‘backbone of industrial opportunity’ across northern England.

Sweden: SaltX has announced a partnership with Holcim to develop technology and solutions that electrify and enable the decarbonisation of the entire cement manufacturing process. As part of the partnership, Holcim is becoming a strategic shareholder in SaltX through an investment of approximately US$4m. 

The companies intend to co-develop and advance SaltX’s electrification technology for calcination, including the production of Portland cement clinker. The goal is to be the first in the world to establish a scalable plant concept for fully electrified cement facilities. The parties’ intention is for the partnership to be extensive, featuring a collaborative go-to-market and scale-up plan. The initial focus is on developing the world’s first all-electric pilot plant for emission-free cement production. This will set the foundation to establish multiple large-scale production facilities based on SaltX’s electrification technology.  

Canada: Carbon Upcycling Technologies closed a US$18m investment round led by Builders Vision to support its carbon capture and utilisation project at the Ash Grove Mississauga cement plant and with Titan Group at two of its facilities. Strategic investors CRH Ventures, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Titan Group participated in the round.

Carbon Upcycling CEO Apoorv Sinha said “Builders Vision's investment, along with the continued support of our partners, is a powerful signal that the market is ready for scalable, science-based solutions like Carbon Upcycling. With the support of Builders Vision and our strategic partners, we are setting the foundation for low-carbon construction.”