Displaying items by tag: Middle East and Africa

Benin: France-based Chovet is reportedly preparing to support the construction of a 2Mt/yr integrated cement plant. Preparatory studies have been completed and construction is ready to start, according to 24 Heures au Bénin. The engineering company will be responsible for supervising all work, providing project management assistance and monitoring the quality of the installed infrastructure. The project was originally mandated at a meeting of the government’s Council of Ministers in late 2022.

Oman: Raysut Cement has appointed Jamal Shamis Saud Al Hooti as its chair. Khalid Masoud Ansari has been appointed as the vice chair and Liyutha Mohamed Sulaiman Al Ismaili has been appointed as the secretary of the board.

Cameroon: Cameroon will increase its cement production capacity by 4.3Mt to 12.7Mt/yr by the end of 2025 with the addition of three new plants in Édéa, according to Business in Cameroon. The new facilities will help meet local demand and support exports.

The first plant, Sino Africaine (Sinafcim) is under construction and will have a 1Mt/yr capacity. It is set to begin production in April 2025. It will employ 200 workers and 90% will be Cameroonian. The second, Central Africa Cement (CAC), has been operational for several months with a 1.5Mt/yr capacity. It currently employs 100 people and aims to reach 200. The third, Yousheng Cement, is being built near Douala and will have a 1.8Mt/yr capacity. National demand in Cameroon is reportedly around 8Mt.

Nigeria: Dangote Group has resumed construction of a 6Mt/yr cement plant in Itori, Ogun State, according to Business Insider Africa. Itori is 10km from Ewekoro, the site of a 3.9Mt/yr plant owned by Lafarge Africa. Construction of the plant is expected to be completed by November 2026. The company will also build ‘Nigeria’s largest seaport’ at the Olokola Free Trade Zone, also in Ogun State. The plant will have two lines and sits on 533 hectares of land.

Ogun State is already home to the 12Mt/yr Dangote Cement Plant in Ibese. Upon completion of the Itori project, the state’s total cement production capacity will reach 18Mt/yr. Dangote Cement reportedly has a production capacity of 52Mt/yr across Africa, with 70% of production in Nigeria.

Aliko Dangote said “We earlier on abandoned our vision of investing in the Olokola Free Trade Zone but, because of governor Dapo Abiodun’s policies and investor-friendly environment, we are back and will work with the government to return to Olokola. Plans are underway to construct the largest port in the country.”

He said that the nearly US$800m Itori cement plant should have been completed earlier, but was delayed due to opposition from former governor Ibikunle Amosun.

Egypt: Arabian Cement Company has signed a 30-year power purchase agreement with IRSC for renewable electricity. The deal covers the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of the second phase of the firm’s solar power plant. The plant will have a total capacity of 17.6MW and is expected to produce 32.5GW/yr of electricity.

Egypt: Sinai Cement reported a net profit of US$60.7m in 2024, compared to a net loss of US$2.40m in 2023. Net sales rose to US$127m in 2024 from US$84.7m in 2023. Non-consolidated net profit reached US$60.7m, compared to a loss of US$2.32m in 2023.

The Gambia: A recent cement shortage in the Greater Banjul Area and West Coast Region has been attributed to delays at the country’s main port, according to Omar Badjie, director of industry at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment. The disruption reportedly stemmed from a backlog at the Banjul port that left a key shipment from cement supplier Jah Oil waiting offshore.

“The issue wasn't production capacity,” Badjie said. “The port was congested, and Jah Oil's vessel had trouble berthing. That put pressure on the two other cement plants, Salam and Gacem, which couldn't meet the market's demand on their own.”

The government expedited a berth for Jah Oil's vessel, which docked last week with 38,000t of cement. However, supply constraints persist, with contractors reporting stalled projects and inflated prices.

Sierra Leone: MACCEM will build a 0.56Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Hastings, Freetown, on a 4.4-hectare site near the Hastings Airstrip and the Jui-Masiaka Highway, according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The site already houses the producer’s cement bagging plant, with civil works for the grinding plant underway. Site clearing and levelling were completed in July 2024. The remaining construction is expected to take 12-15 months.

Clinker for the plant will be imported and transported by road from the Queen Elizabeth II Quay at the Port of Freetown. The IFC is considering a debt financing package of up to US$24m.

Algeria: Holcim El-Djazaïr has completed its first export shipment from the Port of Béjaïa, sending 50,000t of grey cement to North America. More shipments will follow throughout the year, according to a post by the producer on Linkedin.

Ghana: At a recent stakeholder meeting, Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare instructed the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to shut down cement companies that produce substandard products, according to Adom Online.

“Close down companies that are defaulting with substandard products to stop production until they can prove they can consistently produce quality products,” Ofosu-Adjare said.

She added that price should not be used to justify poor quality cement and warned of the risks posed by substandard materials in public buildings like hotels. She pledged to conduct regular inspections of cement plants to enforce compliance.

The Cement Manufacturers Development Committee Regulation L.I. 2480 and the GSA Act 2022 allow the Minister and the GSA to revoke licences and halt the sale of non-compliant cement.