Vietnam: Fico Tay Ninh Cement (Tafico) plans to start building a new production line at its plant Tan Hoa, Tan Chau District in mid-April 2018. The US$212m project will have a clinker production capacity of 4000t/day, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa’s sales rose by 36% year-on-year to US$835m in 2017 from US$613m in 2016. Its recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) nearly doubled to US$161m from US$81m. Michel Puchercos, the chief executive officer of Lafarge Africa, attributed the strong margins in its Nigerian business to cost initiatives and higher prices. He added that the company’s increased use of alternative fuels and coal to offset gas shortages in the west of Nigeria and a focus on coal and gas in the east and north of the country aided market share.

However, the cement producer reported a ‘challenging’ business environment in South Africa, where operations are expected to ‘stabilise’ in 2018. Its Lichtenburg cement plant returned to normal operations during the course of the year and a turnaround plan was initiated in order to transform the company’s operations.

Uganda: Trade minister Amelia Kyambadde has given local cement producers three weeks to lower cement prices otherwise. If they do not cooperate she will allow cheaper exports of cement into the country, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper. A recent surge in the price of cement has led to a crisis in the construction industry with panic buying, hoarding and rationing reported by retailers and consumers.

Egypt: Khaled Fahmy, the Minister of Environment, has opened a new production line at Arabian Cement Company’s Ain Sokhna plant in Suez. The line uses FLSmidth’s Hotdisc combustion device to allow it to use high levels of alternative fuels, according to the Watani newspaper. The opening was attended by Muhammad Shehab Abdel-Wahab, chief executive of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, Nahed Youssef, head of waste management organisation, as well as a number of representatives of the financiers, and director of the European Investment Bank.

In 2015 Arabian Cement Company commissioned another Hotdisc installation. At the time is said it had a designed fuel mix of 70% coal and 30% alternative fuels, using a mixture of agricultural wastes, municipal sludge, and refuse-derived fuel (RDF).

UK: A report by the CDP looking at some of the largest multinational cement producers says that they need to double their emissions reductions in order to meet the 2°C global warming target outlined in the Paris Agreement. The report, entitled ‘Building Pressure,’ analysed 13 large cement companies including LafargeHolcim, HeidelbergCement and Cemex from data in a questionnaire. However, two major Chinese cement producers, Anhui Conch and China National Building Materials, and other producers including Siam Cement and Dangote Cement did not respond.

The report argues that regulation is the key driver to helping the cement industry reduce its emissions, through tightening building regulation and a rise in low carbon cities. However, it concedes that the sector faces a technology barrier, as ‘significant innovation’ is still required. “With potential pressure coming from multiple sources, including down the value chain in the form of building and city regulation, cement companies need to invest and innovate in order to avoid impending risks to their operations and the wider world. This may see m challenging at first, but every year it is delayed, the cost becomes greater, so management teams, regulators and investors need to think long term. There is a solution - cement companies just need to invest properly in finding it,” said Paul Simpson, the chief executive officer of CDP. The CDP report assessed companies across four key areas aligned with the recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Indian companies toped its league table in part due to better access to alternative materials from other carbon-intensive sectors. They also benefited from

newer cement plants driven by high market growth in the region compared to older plants in Europe. Dalmia Bharat, Ambuja Cement and Cementos Argos were the best performing companies on climate-related metrics and Taiheiyo Cement, Cementir Holding and Asia Cement Corporation ranked lowest.

Algeria: China’s CBMI has signed a contract with ASEC Cement to build a 4500t/day clinker production line at ASEC Cement’s Djelfa plant. The unit was originally partially built by ASEC Egypt in 2008 and had completed 90% of civil work before it was suspended due to the financial crash. Local company ETRHB Haddad and the Algerian subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) took control of ASEC Cement in 2017 allowing the Djelfa project to continue.

The engineering, procurement and construction contract covers limestone crushing to cement packaging and delivery. It includes engineering, equipment and steel structure procurement, civil construction, erection, training and commissioning. Construction is scheduled to take 19 months from the contract’s activation date. As such the plant could be operational by the end of 2019.

Morocco: Cement consumption fell by 6.91% to 3.31Mt in the first three months of 2018 from 3.55Mt in the same period of 2017. Consumption decreased particularly in the Dakhla - Oued Ed-Dahab, Fès - Meknès and Béni Mellal - Khénifra regions according to Ministry of Housing data. It also dropped sharply in March 2018 by 15.1% to 1.24Mt.

Zambia: Weye Construction Materials has submitted plans to the Zambia Environmental Management Agency to build a 1Mt/yr cement plant in Chilanga district. The investment for the proposed project, including quarry and full clinker production line, has been set at the low value of US$45m.

According to the application the project will build a raw material mill single–stage cyclone pre-heater, a coal-fired rotary kiln and a packaging unit. Bag filters will be used for dust recovery at the bagging facility and material transfer points. Electrostatic precipitators will be installed for gas cleaning to avert nuisances from the kiln. WEYE added that the project would also create 555 jobs.

WEYE Construction Materials is owned by two Chinese shareholders: Zhang Yiwei and Lu Qiang. It is a subsidiary of China’s Weye Construction Group, based in Jiangsu province and established in 1999.

Brazil: Votorantim’s cement division’s sales fell by 7% year-on-year to US$3.24bn in 2017 from US$3.48bn in 2016. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 26% to US$515m from US$693m. The company blamed the continued decline on the poor market in Brazil. Outside of Brazil, Votorantim Cimentos reported positive markets in most territories, apart from Tunisia. Overall the group’s sales rose by 5% to US$7.95bn from US$7.59bn.

Cuba: The Nuevitas cement plant will test LC3 cement, according to the Adelante newspaper. LC3 is a blend of limestone and calcined clay that reduces the amount of clinker used. The plant is one of three units in the country earmarked for upgrades in 2018.