Philippines: Cement producers say that if the government does not implement a permanent safeguard duty on cement imports they may reconsider investment plans to upgrade their plants. Representatives of Taiheyo Cement, Republic Cement, Holcim and Cemex made the comments at public hearings by the Tariff Commission, according to the Philippine Star newspaper. The commission is conducting an investigation to determine whether the provisional safeguard duty imposed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on cement imports should be kept.

During the hearings, Cirilo Pestaño II the executive director of the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP), lobbied the government to impose a higher ‘definitive’ safeguard duty. He said that imports of cement rose by 64% year-on-year to 1.74Mt in the first quarter of 2019 from 1.06Mt in the same period in 2018 despite the provisional safeguard measure being in place.

India: The Builders Association of India (BAI) has called for the creation of a regulatory body to control the price of cement. Sachin Chandra, the president of BAI, called on the newly elected Indian government to set up the organisation, according to the Hindu newspaper. He alleged that the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP), the Competition Commission of India and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal had ‘repeatedly’ found evidence of anti-competitive behaviour in the cement industry.

Moldova: Rybnitsky Cement plans to challenge the Ukrainian government’s tariffs on building materials from Russia, Belarus and Moldova. The producer recently started exporting cement to Ukraine, according to the Infotag News Agency. About 20% of its export sales go to Ukraine. A 94% duty on goods originating from Moldova has been imposed following an anti-dumping investigation by the Ukrainian interdepartmental commission for international trade. In 2018 the Rybnitsky Cement plant produced about 0.4Mt of cement.

Vietnam: Long Son Cement has launched the Vu Dinh 125, a 7000t cargo ship at the Hai Phong Pacific Shipyards. The vessel will be used to transport bulk cement to the central and southern domestic markets and for export to China, Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines.

Oman: Resolve Marine Group (RMG) says it has completed the wreck removal of the bulk cement carrier MV Raysut II. The ship was grounded on Fazayah Beach in May 2018 due to poor weather. The location is home to several endangered species of sea turtle which nest there and RMG worked to remove the ship without causing environmental damage.

At the time of its grounding the vessel held around 6750t of cement. After attempts to refloat the ship failed it was declared a constructive total loss. In November 2018 RMG was awarded the contract to remove the ship and its cargo. It was partially repaired and refloated with its cargo onboard in February 2019. It was then towed to the Port of Salalah where the cargo was discharged and the ship was recycled.

Cuba: The University ‘Marta Abreu’ of Las Villas (UCLV) has started operating a 7t/day limestone calcined clay cement plant. The unit will be run by the Geominera del Centro Company, according to the Cuban News Agency. Building materials produced at the plant will be used locally.

Fernando Martirena Hernández, director of the Centre for Research and Development of Structures and Materials (CIDEM), said it was the first plant producing low carbon cement in the world. The project is a collaboration between the university and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation as part of the LC3 project. Similar plants are planned for 18 countries including India, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Senegal.

France/Serbia: Turkey’s Fons Technology International, part of Dal Engineering Group, has released information about recent projects for CRH. In France a replacement clinker cooler and roller crusher was commissioned at the Lumbres plant in February 2019. The project started in October 2018 and the upgrade has a capacity of 1500t/day. In Serbia a Fons Delta clinker cooler and three roller crushers were commissioned at Popvac plant in January 2019. This project started in September 2018 and it has a capacity of 2200t/day.

Qatar: Sika is starting operation at a new concrete admixture plant in Doha. The site will include production lines for concrete-admixture manufacturing as well as a main office and a central storage facility. The new plant follows the establishment of the national subsidiary in 2012.

"The optimisation of our supply chain will enable us to play an even greater role in major construction projects in Qatar. Having our own production capacities available locally makes it possible for us to lower transportation costs and enhance proximity to customers," said Ivo Schädler, EMEA Regional Manager for Sika.

India: India Cement net profit fell to US$2.74m in the year to 31 March 2019 from US$9.56m in the same period in 2018. It blamed competition in the south of the country and low prices in the first nine months of the year. Its power and fuel costs also rose during the period. Despite this its income grew by 6% year-on-year to US$836m from US$785m. Its cement sales volumes rose by 11% to 12.4Mt from 11.2Mt.

Iraq: Etihad Al Saqar has entered into a US$260m contract with China Machinery Engineering for a new cement plant. The unit will have a clinker production capacity of 6000t/day and will use a 52.2MW heavy fuel oil power plant, according to ET Net News. China Machinery Engineering, as the general contractor, will be responsible for the design, supply, civil engineering and construction, installation, training, commissioning, warranty and other works of the project. Construction is expected to last 30 months.