Displaying items by tag: Plant

Mozambique: Mozambique and China will together invest US$333m to build two new cement plants, a jetty and hospital services in Nampula and Cabo Delgado. The investment is the result of four agreements signed in October 2025 at an investment conference in Xian in China’s Shaanxi province, where representatives from the two countries’ governments were present. The timescale of the work was not given. The conference served to strengthen economic cooperation with the Shaanxi provincial government and establish new partnerships and investments by Chinese companies. A delegation of 50 Mozambicans attended, led by the Minister of Economy, Basílio Muhate.

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.”

Cementir Group launched two of its lower carbon cement products in the Middle East and Africa markets this week. We’ll take a look at this in more detail and cover other recent products news from cement producers.

Egypt-based Sinai White Cement will manufacture the products under Cementir’s D-Carb umbrella. One will be a Limestone Portland cement, to the CEM II/A-LL 52.5N specification EN197-1, with around a 10% clinker reduction. The other will be CEM II/B-LL 42.5N with around a 20% clinker reduction. Both of these reductions are in comparison to Aalborg White CEM I 52.5R. D-Carb is the name of Cementir’s product range for white low-carbon cements. It was launched in European markets in 2024, with II/ALL 52.5R cement, and then expanded to Asia Pacific regions, including Australia, in early 2025. Cementir says that its customers can switch to D-Carb from CEM I as it “integrates well with their production processes without requiring major formulation changes.”

In late October 2025 Dyckerhoff revealed that it was the first cement manufacturer in Germany to receive general building authority approval (abZ) for the use of CEM VI (SLL) cement in accordance with DIN EN 197-5. The German Institute for Building Technology (DIBt) granted approval for Dyckerhoff’s Lengerich cement plant. CEM VI is a newer type of composite cement similar to CEM II but with a lower clinker content. The SLL type that Dyckerhoff wants to make has a clinker content of 35 – 49 %, granulated blast furnace slag of 31 – 59% and limestone of 6 – 20%. The company says that this cement can be used in more than 60% of all concrete types produced in ready-mixed concrete plants. Its composition is also useful for low-carbon concretes when no fillers, such as fly ash, are available. Dyckerhoff added that the low hydration heat of the cement has a particularly positive effect in massive cast components.

Earlier in October 2025 Rohrdorfer held an inauguration ceremony for a new pilot unit for calcined (they say tempered) clays at its Rohrdorf cement plant. The pilot project started in July 2025 and has been processing up to 50t/day of raw clay. When Rohrdorfer launched the project in early 2024 it said that it was going to use waste heat from the main production line and was also considering the use of hydrogen to provide the remaining amount of heat required. Waste gases produced during calcination were also going to be fed back into the existing waste gas cleaning system of the clinker production line after leaving the pilot plant to further reduce emissions. Rohrdorfer said that its approach was going to be the first time waste heat recovery was going to be used in conjunction with calcining clay.

Meanwhile, in West Africa, Dangote Cement inaugurated its new 3Mt/yr cement plant near Abidjan in the Ivory Coast in mid-October 2024. Around the same time the company launched various products in the country, including its CEM I and CEM II brands 32.5R, 3X42.5N, 3X42.5R and 52.5N. This is a more traditional range of cement products compared to the ones above but note the highlighting of strength. This has been a key selling point for products in this part of the world previously, hence its focus. CEM II is a blended cement that uses lower levels of clinker. One clinker substitute in CEM II products is calcined clay. Gebr. Pfeiffer, for example, said in August 2025 that it was to supply a vertical roller mill to Ciments de Côte d'Ivoire (CIMCI) for clay grinding at its cement plant. There are also a number of other calcined clay projects in the Ivory Coast and other countries in West Africa. Further afield, JK Cement in India also started to market its LC3 clay calcined cement product line in October 2025.

Finally, US-based Amrize launched its ‘Made in America’ label for its cement range this week, “offering builders the guarantee of American manufacturing and quality, supporting American jobs and local communities.” Readers may recall that Amrize was recently owned by Switzerland-based Holcim. However, the company is currently keen to point out that its cement products are “made in the US from its raw materials and processing to manufacturing, meeting rigorous US performance standards.” Amrize does sell blended cements including FortiCem Portland-Pozzolan Blended Cement, ECOPlanet Cements and OneCem Portland Limestone Cement.

Most of the news stories highlighted above demonstrate a trend for blended cements with lower clinker factors. There’s no real change here. This has been happening for a long time and it is being driven by both profit and sustainability motives, although the current bunch of stories may also be turning up to coincide with the COP30 conference in Brazil. Note the inclusion of places outside of Europe and the drive for new blends. Another factor to consider here is protectionism in certain markets, as Amrize’s marketing drive suggests. New blends will also require new certifications, standards and approvals as is the case with Dyckerhoff’s work on CEM VI (SLL). The next trend to watch for will be the market reaction to carbon captured cements, such as Heidelberg Materials’ evoZero product. Will end users pay a premium for zero-carbon cements?

Armenia: The Armenian government will exempt Dragsman Cement from customs duties on imports. The producer will invest US$5m to build a new cement plant using imported equipment. It will invest US$3.6m in fixed assets, US$654,000 in dismantling and installation,  US$130,000 in construction and US$523,000 in specialised equipment. According to local press, there will be 40 new jobs available. The customs duty exemption is valued at US$107,000.

Türkiye: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €50m loan to cement producer Çimsa to support its decarbonisation efforts. According to the EBRD, the financing will fund a calcium aluminate cement (CAC) kiln and decarbonisation upgrades for existing grey and white cement kilns at Çimsa’s Mersin plant. CAC production has a ‘significantly’ lower carbon footprint than traditional grey cement, according to the producer.

The EBRD said that the project aligns with Türkiye’s Industrial Decarbonisation Investment Platform, the world’s largest industrial decarbonisation programme, which provides policy guidance and low-carbon pathways for hard-to-abate sectors, including cement.

Erdem Yasar, EBRD Deputy Head for Türkiye, said that the partnership supports both Çimsa’s competitiveness and broader industry sustainability.

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.

India: Ramco Industries will build a new fibre cement board plant in Maksi, Madhya Pradesh, with an installed capacity of 58,000t/yr. The project, estimated to cost US$23.8m, will be financed through US$15.2m in term loans and internal accruals, and is expected to be completed within 12 months. The company said the investment aligns with its growth strategy and responds to rising demand for fibre cement boards in the construction industry.

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.”

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.

Serbia: The economy ministry will provide Lafarge Srbija, part of the Holcim Group, with a €10.6m subsidy to help finance the construction of a new cement plant in Belgrade’s Obrenovac municipality, according to SeeNews. The government initially announced the cement producer’s plans to build a new plant in August 2024. Lafarge reportedly plans to invest €112m in the project by the end of 2027. The company will hire 51 additional full-time workers by the end of 2026, bringing total employment to 320, which it will maintain for at least five years after completion. The subsidy, equivalent to 9.5% of total investment, will be paid in three tranches between 2026 and 2028.

The Obrenovac plant will produce cement using ash from nearby thermal power plants operated by state-owned Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS). In February 2025, EPS signed a 10-year agreement to supply 20Mt of ash from the Nikola Tesla B power plant to a consortium of Lafarge Srbija and Elixir Group. Lafarge Srbija also acquired the Jazovnik stone quarry in Vladimirci, 30km from the new site, to establish a complete logistics chain for the complex. The producer operates an existing cement plant in Beocin.