Displaying items by tag: Middle East and Africa

Iraq: Operations have officially commenced at the VAN Cement Plant, according to Van Company for Industrial Investment and General Trading. The facility has a clinker production capacity of 7000t/yr and produces a range of cement types, including sulphate-resistant cement, ordinary Portland cement and CEM II. The plant will reportedly help to meet Iraq’s growing domestic demand for cement.

Morocco: Cement deliveries reached 12.3Mt at the end of October 2025, up by 11% from 11.2Mt in the same period of 2024, according to the Ministry of National Territorial Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Urban Policy. The growth was driven by the performance of members of the Professional Association of Cement Manufacturers (APC), including Asment Temara, Ciments de l’Atlas, Ciments du Maroc, LafargeHolcim Maroc and Novacim. In October 2025, APC members recorded deliveries of 1.5Mt, up 16% year-on-year from 1.3Mt in October 2024.

Egypt: Cement production rose to 17.6Mt between January and April 2025, up from 13.4Mt in the same period of 2024, according to data from the Central Bank of Egypt. Cement sales also grew to 14.1Mt, a year-on-year increase of 17%. The Cement Producers Division reports that 19 companies are operating in Egypt, with total investments exceeding US$4.8bn.

Cement exports reportedly reached US$770m in 2023, up by 14%, and US$780m in the first 10 months of 2024, up by 12%. The Export Council for Building Materials said that Egyptian cement was exported to 95 countries, led by African markets.

Egypt: The Maritime Transport Sector has reported that Egyptian ports will receive 170,000t of coal, out of a total of 500,000t of clean dry bulk cargo being delivered on the week commencing 3 November 2025.

Shipments include 60,000t of US coal for the National Cement Company at Beni Suef via Alexandria Port, 50,000t of Turkish coal for the National Cement Company at East Port Said, and a further 60,000t of US coal for Heidelberg Materials Suez Cement.

France: The Lafarge group and several former senior officials will stand trial in Paris from 4 November 2025, accused of historically financing terrorist organisations, including Islamic State (IS). The aim of the alleged payments was to maintain operations at a cement plant in Jalabiya, northern Syria. The defendants include former CEO Bruno Lafont, five former managers and two Syrian intermediaries. They face charges of financing a terrorist enterprise and, for some, breaching international financial sanctions.

Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS), the group’s Syrian subsidiary, is suspected of paying several million Euros between 2013 and 2014 to jihadi groups IS and Jabhat al-Nusra to secure raw materials and allow the movement of employees and goods. The €680m Jalabiya plant, completed in 2010, continued operating until IS took control in September 2014, two years after most other multinationals had left Syria.

An internal investigation in 2017 found ‘violations of Lafarge’s business code of conduct.’ Lafarge, which merged with Holcim in 2015, has said the events predated the merger.  In October 2022, Lafarge pleaded guilty in the US to paying IS and Jabhat al-Nusra nearly US$6m and agreed to pay a US$778m penalty.

Former CEO Lafont has denied knowledge of the payments. His lawyers argue that the US plea “is a blatant attack on the presumption of innocence” and aimed to “preserve the economic interests of a large group.”

So far, 241 civil parties have joined the case. “More than ten years after the events, the former Syrian employees will finally be able to testify about what they endured: the checkpoint crossings, the kidnappings and the constant threat hanging over their lives,” said Sherpa legal officer Anna Kiefer. Lafarge faces a fine of up to €1.125m for financing terrorism, while penalties for violating the embargo could reach ten times the value of the offence. A separate investigation into alleged complicity in crimes against humanity in Syria and Iraq remains ongoing.

Saudi Arabia: City Cement recorded a 6% year-on-year fall in net profit to US$25.8m in the first nine months of 2025, down from US$27.5m in 2024. This was despite a 7% rise in revenues to US$103m from US$96.5m.

In the third quarter of 2025, the company’s net profit dropped by 74% year-on-year to US$2.3m from US$9m, while revenues fell by 26% to US$25.8m from US$34.8m. Quarter-on-quarter, profit declined by 76% from US$9.7m in the second quarter of 2025, with revenues down by 31% from US$37.3m.

Kenya: Cement production rose to 920,000t in August 2025, up by 1% month-on-month from 907,000t in July 2025, keeping pace with rising demand. Consumption also reached a record 907,000t, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

The rebound follows the release of US$487m by the Treasury earlier in 2025 to clear unpaid bills to contractors, which allowed hundreds of stalled road and infrastructure projects to resume. The sector had previously contracted by 3% in the quarter ending June 2025 due to budget cuts, high material costs and reduced private lending.

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.

Libya: Preparations are progressing for the launch of the Misrata Cement Plant project, with a technical committee reviewing the steps needed to begin implementation. The committee in Tripoli examined technical and administrative measures for completing the preparatory phase and reviewed geological and soil analysis work by the Industrial Research Centre.

It also followed up on the contract with an international engineering consultancy assisting in negotiations and implementation with China-based Sinoma – Wuhan. A Libyan project manager has been appointed to oversee and evaluate the work of the technical and consulting teams. The meeting formed part of efforts by the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio and the technical committee to move towards construction in line with international standards.

UAE: Gulf Cement has been integrated into Italy-based producer Buzzi. The event was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by senior executives of both companies.

Buzzi said “This integration is not just a business transaction; it represents a strategic alignment of shared values, innovation and long-term growth. We are delighted to welcome Gulf Cement into our family and look forward to building a stronger, more sustainable future together.”