Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW772 / 12 August 2026

Headlines


Cement developments in South East Africa include a 1.1Mt/yr project start and completion of a 0.8Mt/yr expansion, both in Mozambique, in the past fortnight. The current round of cement capacity-building shows global trends of alternative raw materials substitution and electrification. It also goes to show the new geopolitical multipolarity, in the form of over US$600m of investments from China.

Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe lie at the southern end of the African Rift Valley system, between the Kalahari desert to the west and the Bushveld dry forest to the south. The three nations are connected by the course of the River Zambezi, from its source in Ikelenge district, Zambia, to its mouth 1500km away in Sofala and Zambezia provinces, Mozambique. The countries have a combined population of 74.5m people and an integrated cement capacity of 6.45Mt/yr. Over 4Mt/yr-worth of new capacity construction commenced, continued or concluded in August 2026. Additionally, the region has a proportion of planned and approved cement plant projects of uncertain status at present.

Mozambique’s cement sector is notable for its medium-sized integrated cement segment (two plants, 3.2Mt/yr) but large, diffuse cement grinding segment (10 plants, 4.75Mt/yr). The industry is shaped to take advantage of its location beside the Indian Ocean, via which it receives clinker and exports finished cement to buyers in Comoros and Madagascar, across the Mozambique Channel. An 11th, US$35m grinding plant is planned for Ancuabe in coastal Cabo Delgado province. Moçambique Dugongo Cimentos, a joint venture between SPI Gestão and China-based West International Holding, was preparing to commence the 17-month construction project in mid-2025.

Other developments indicate a shift in local industrial strategy towards greater self-sufficiency up the cement value chain. China-based Huaxin Cement subsidiary Cimentos de Moçambique successfully tripled the production capacity of its Nacala integrated cement plant in Nampula province to 1.2Mt/yr on 28 July 2026, at a cost of US$110m. Moçambique Dugongo Cimentos, meanwhile, is itself building a US$192m, 2.2Mt/yr integrated plant at Nacala, which had previously been due for delivery in 2025.

Then on 7 August 2026, Global Cement News reported broken ground at the site of a third Mozambican cement plant project. Clay & Gravel Holding’s upcoming 1.1Mt/yr Muxúnguè cement plant is reportedly under construction by China-based AVIC International Beijing. Clay & Gravel Holding is a single-parent entity, which, combined with its choice of engineering contractor, suggests Chinese ownership – perhaps by confirmed Muxúnguè plant investor China Energy Overseas Investment. Together with the Nacala plants, this is set to bring Mozambique’s cement sector to an eventual five integrated plants, with a combined capacity of 7.3Mt/yr. The Muxúnguè plant is also planned to have 0.9Mt/yr of additional clinker capacity.

In Zambia, state investment firm ZCCM Investments Holdings and China-based ​Wonderful Group launched a 45:55 joint venture, Ndola Lime, at the end of May 2026. The aim of the JV will be to restart the Ndola cement and lime plant in Copperbelt province. Wonderful Group will invest US$30m and ZCCM Investment Holdings will write off US$9.8m of historic debt attached to the Ndola facility. The restart of cement production will form Phase 2 or 3 of the planned project, following the restart of lime production, subject to local market conditions. Prior to its closure in 2018, the plant had a cement production capacity of 0.2Mt/yr. 

Zambia’s 1.55Mt/yr integrated cement industry has been 100% (China-based) Huaxin Cement-owned since it acquired regional former Lafarge assets, including Zambia’s 0.55Mt/yr Chilanga and 1Mt/yr Ndola cement plants, in 2021. Read Global Cement’s previous analysis of Huaxin Cement’s movements in Sub-Saharan Africa from the end of 2024 here. China Zambia De Jin Xin Cement has had plans for a further Zambian integrated cement plant, along with a new limestone mine and captive power plant, since November 2024. The Global Cement Directory 2026 currently lists no grinding plants in Zambia.

Zimbabwe has 1.7Mt/yr in integrated capacity across four cement plants, with six grinding plants adding a further 2.5Mt/yr in installed cement capacity. The country is due to host a new, 0.4Mt/yr grinding plant from October 2026, Global Cement News has reported, following an update from Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) on 10 August 2026. The subsidiary of China-based Tsingshan Holding Group is building the US$15m plant at its Manhize metallurgical complex in Mashonaland East province, where cement production will benefit from a captive source of granulated blast furnace slag. The plant will also source limestone from Chirumhanzu and Masvingo districts. These districts occupy a geologically rich region, hitherto only developed for ferrous and precious metals production.

In neighbouring Mashonaland West province, China-based Shuntai Investments reported ‘significant progress’ on construction of its upcoming 2.2Mt/yr Chegutu integrated cement plant in mid-July 2026. The plant, including a captive 50MW solar power plant and fleet of electric vehicles, is on schedule to launch in September 2026. This will more than double Zimbabwe’s integrated production capacity, to 3.9Mt/yr. This removes any need for the 35,000 – 45,000t/month of cement that Zimbabwe imported in 2026 to-date, but raises the issue of overcapacity for the landlocked country. In 2025, Zimbabwe consumed 1.8Mt of cement, amidst locally-reported shortages.

Longer-term project concepts in Zimbabwe include a ‘rehabilitation’ of the 0.7Mt/yr Manresa cement plant in Harare (following a bail-out in 2024) by Uganda-based Hima Cement and a new, 1.5Mt/yr Dangote Cement plant at an as-yet unspecified location. PPC and China-based Sinoma Overseas Development, meanwhile, are collaborating on a potential expansion to the South Africa-based producer’s 0.5Mt/yr Colleen Bawn cement plant in Matabeleland South province – capacity as yet unconfirmed. A May 2026 announcement by the partners indicated that a new integrated cement plant project may follow after. The above projects may eventually raise the number of Zimbabwean integrated cement plants to seven.

An influx of foreign cash of the kind underway in Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe is a mixed blessing. Across the region, new plants are rising up and mothballed ones are being resurrected. Companies like Tsingshan Holding Group and Shuntai Investments in Zimbabwe are signing the deals that African competitors appear to only be mulling over. At the upcoming Chegutu plant, Shuntai Investments is hiring 400 local people to work alongside its technicians. Over at Zvishvane in Midlands province, 120 people work at Zimbabwe’s newest grinding plant, opened just under a year ago in September 2025 by China-based Livetouch Investments. On 24 February 2026, the High Court of Zimbabwe found that Livetouch Investments had breached its contract with the Zvishvane plant’s coal fines supplier, locally-based Avim Investments, by not paying it.1

Zimbabwe will celebrate its 50th and Mozambique its 55th anniversary of independence in 2030; Zambia’s 65th will be in 2029. Whether geopolitical multipolarity will be able to serve these countries better than the old extractive postcolonialism depends on the relationships between local networks on the one hand and plant managers under pressure to deliver results on the other. These relationships, however, take time.

References

1 NewZimbabwe, 'Chinese firm Livetouch ordered to pay US$380k to transporter in long-running debt saga, 24 February 2026,' www.newzimbabwe.com/chinese-firm-livetouch-ordered-to-pay-us380k-to-transporter-in-long-running-debt-saga/


Taiwan: Asia Cement Corporation has appointed economist, politician and Soochow University chair Hsueh Chi as convener of its audit Committee for the term of 28 May 2026 – 27 May 2029. Huan Lin, secretary-general of the Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei, also joined the committee as a new independent director for the same term. Chang-Pang Chang, Flora Chia-I Chang and Gordon Chen all received re-appointment to the committee as independent directors.

During his career, Chi has served as Governor of Fujian and as minister without portfolio in the Taiwan government. He was previously deputy minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development of the Executive Yuan, and before that chair of the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Chi holds a bachelor's and master's degrees from National Taiwan University in Taiwan.


Argentina: Loma Negra recorded revenues of US$317m in the first half of 2026, up by 2% year-on-year. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to US$71m, up by 1% year-on-year.

The company’s CEO, Sergio Faifman, said "Industry volumes have not yet fully regained the momentum we were expecting. Performance during the second quarter of 2026 was mainly affected by a weak April, impacted by heavy rains. The quarter-on-quarter comparison was more affected by higher costs, some of them seasonal. Our top line continued to show a positive trend, although volumes are still lagging. In dollar terms, EBITDA-per-tonne improved year-over-year and remains at healthy levels, underscoring the resilience of our operations.” Considering the second half of the year, Faifman said “We will continue to focus on preserving our efficiency gains as we await a stronger level of activity."


Brazil: Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) has reportedly received binding offers for its cement business, CSN Cimentos, from three bidders. Sources ‘familiar with the talks’ told Valor International News that the bidders are China-based Huaxin Cement, building materials group Polimix and a Brazilian-Italian consortium of Votorantim Cimentos and Cementir Holding. The source characterised Huaxin Cement’s purported bid as the ‘most aggressive’ of the three reportedly submitted.

CSN announced its receipt of unspecified offers on 10 August 2026. The group said that it will analyse the offers, and provided no further details.


Germany: Thomas Zement has broken ground on the construction of a new cement grinding mill at its 1.4Mt/yr Karsdorf cement plant in Saxony-Anhalt. The mill will use thermal energy derived from waste heat from the plant's clinker cooler. It is intended to reduce the Karsdorf plant’s CO₂ emissions and clinker and power consumption.


Israel: Alternative cement developer Starstone has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with building materials producer Ashtrom Industries for an applied evaluation of its biogenic cement. Starstone produces cement using bacterial fermentation inside bioreactors, removing the need for heating or quarried minerals and facilitating an 80% reduction in energy consumption. Following a successful evaluation, the partners will consider possibilities for commercial integration.


Costa Rica: Holcim Costa Rica has published its second Sustainability Report, covering 2025. During the year, the producer more than doubled its sales of ECOPact 30% reduced-CO₂ concrete year-on-year. It added two new concrete plants, increasing its concrete capacity by a factor of 10, and sold 682,000t of cement. A link to the report is available on Holcim Costa Rica’s website.


Brazil: Steelmaker CSN announced on 10 August 2026 that it had begun to review binding bids for a potential full divestment of its cement business CSN Cimentos. It was earlier reported that the sale could fetch more than US$2bn, with China-based Huaxin Cement and a consortium of Votorantim Cimentos and Italy-founded Cementir Holding among the leading contenders.


France: The Rhône Décarbonisation project, involving Vicat, H4 Marseille Fos, Société du Pipeline Sud-Européen (SPSE) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal developer Elengy, has secured 50% of the long-term biogenic CO2 supply needed for H4 Marseille Fos’ production of electrically-derived sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF). This will come from 1.2Mt/yr of CO2 captured from Vicat’s Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant in Isère, with transport through an SPSE pipeline running for approximately 350km. The scheme, being developed by Hy2gen and H2V, will create France’s first structured carbon capture and utilisation value chain, with a final investment decision expected in 2028.

H4 Marseille Fos is targeting production of 75,000t/yr of e-SAF using methanol-to-jet fuel technology from 2032 onwards. The project aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 240,000t/yr of CO2-eq compared to kerosene.

As well as e-SAF, the project will also export e-methanol delivered by ship at Fos-sur-Mer. Ports Europe reported in February 2026 that Marseille Fos port allocated 46.6 hectares at Môle Central to H4 Marseille Fos for the €1.5bn project.


Slovenia: Alpacem, the only cement producer in Slovenia, is planning to invest €30m to cut emissions at its plant in Anhovo. The investment includes the installation of regenerative thermal oxidation and selective catalytic reduction systems. These are required by the 2024 changes to the Environmental Protection Act, which brought stricter emission limits for waste co-incineration plants. The plant comes under this category due to its use of refuse-derived fuel (RDF).

While a final building permit has already been obtained, an environmental permit is still pending. Alpacem says that the investment will make the Anhovo plant one of the ‘most environmentally efficient’ cement plants in Europe. The plant's production capacity, permitted quantities of clinker production and permitted quantities of RDF use will not change.


India: A court reserved orders on a petition filed by Bharathi Cement on 10 August 2026, in which it is seeking police protection for its Kadapa cement plant and limestone quarry in YSR Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh. The company alleges inaction on the part of the police over obstruction of the operations, near Nallalingayapalle.

The producer alleges that a group of terminated contract employees, in collusion with some others, have blocked access to the Kadapa plant and disrupted limestone transport. The company contended that it is incurring losses of US$400,000/day, while police have ‘turned a blind eye,’ despite a complaint being lodged.

The Andhra Pradesh government responded, saying that Bharathi Cement had voluntarily closed one of two access gates to the plant but that movements had continued in and out of the site. It added that police had provided security at the site and ensured that no ‘untoward incidents’ occurred.


Azerbaijan: The State Statistics Committee recorded cement production of 1.85Mt in the first half of 2026, down by 4% year-on-year. Meanwhile, clinker production rose by 3%, to 1.91Mt. Trend News Agency has reported that cement inventories stood at 206,000t and clinker inventories at 391,000t on 1 July 2026.


US: California Attorney General Robert Bonta has filed a US$2.8m lawsuit against what he called CalPortland’s ‘negligence,’ claiming that its Redding cement plant in California started the Wonder Fire to the north of the city in 2023. The California Department for Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said that CalPortland called for assistance on 24 July 2023 after a blaze broke out in vegetation on the company's property near its private railway, where five bulk storage rail cars had been moving. An employee was unable to suppress the fire and called 911, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit states that Cal Fire's investigator found some brake shoes on the 1976 locomotive were ‘significantly worn,’ allowing metal components of the brake shoes to make contact with the locomotive's metal wheel. The lawsuit claims that this metal-on-metal contact emitted molten metal and sparks capable of igniting dry vegetation along CalPortland's tracks.

The Wonder Fire was reported on 24 July 2023 near Wonderland Boulevard and Fawndale Road north of Redding and Mountain Gate in Shasta County. The brush and timber fire burned 65 hectares before reaching 100% containment on 28 July 2023. No one was injured and no structures were damaged in the fire that prompted temporary evacuations of the Bridge Bay Marina and other nearby areas, according to Cal Fire.

CalPortland has reportedly not responded to an email request for comment.


China: West China Cement expects to record a net profit of US$49.9 – 55.4m in the first half of 2026, down by 50 – 55% year-on-year. The producer attributed the anticipated decline to a drop in its cement sales volumes and selling prices.


Afghanistan: Gulbahar Cement Factory has started construction of an upcoming US$143m, 1.1Mt/yr cement plant in Herat’s Zinda Jan district. Pajhwok Afghan News has reported that the plant will generate 5000 new jobs in the area.

Global Cement News previously reported plans for an expansion of the same capacity and price to the unfinished Injil cement plant outside Herat in October 2023. It remains unclear whether the latest news affects this project and possibly signifies a change of plans.


India: Mangalam Cement’s sales rose by 0.8% to US$47.8m in the first quarter of the 2027 financial year (begun 1 April 2026). Operating expenditure also rose, by 7% year-on-year to US$42.2m. The producer attributed this primarily to a rise in its inventory value, to US$2.58m. As a result, profit before tax fell by 38% year-on-year.


Zimbabwe: Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) is on schedule to commence production at an upcoming 400,000t/yr slag cement grinding plant at its Manhize metallurgical complex in Midlands Province in October 2026. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that the plant will use granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) from the complex’s steel production. The complex is undergoing a Phase 2 expansion to increase its production of downstream steel products, due for commissioning later in 2026. DISCO is due to complete construction of a new road from the complex’s mines in August 2026.


India: STLC RE 1 plans to build a captive solar power plant at JK Lakshmi Cement’s Sirohi cement plant in Rajasthan. Renewables Now News has reported that the plant will have a capacity of 29MW alternating current or 49MW direct current and be equipped with a 28MWh battery energy storage system. The partners expect a return on the investment within two years.

JK Lakshmi Cement plans to acquire a stake of at least 26% in STLC RE 1 Ltd for up to US$2.15m by the end of 2026.


Uzbekistan: Cement plants in Uzbekistan produced 10.1Mt of cement in the first six months of 2026, according to the National Statistics Committee. Compared with the same period of 2025, cement production increased by 0.2Mt (2%).


Mozambique: The Minister of Economy, Basílio Zefanias Muhate, laid the first stone for the construction of the Clay & Gravel Holding cement plant in Chibabava district, Sofala province, on 5 August 2026. The plant was a US$220m investment in partnership with China Energy Overseas Investment. Muhate said that the plant will produce 1.2Mt/yr of cement (3000t/day) and 0.95Mt/yr of clinker. Following its commissioning, Sofala province will have five cement plants.


Jamaica: Despite ‘operational challenges’ during the second quarter ending 30 June 2026, Caribbean Cement achieved a second-quarter sales volume of 0.11Mt, which it said was the highest ever recorded for the period.

As for the first half of 2026, gross profit rose to US$58m from US$33m, representing a 75% year-on-year increase. The company said that this reflects stronger operating efficiency and a more favourable production environment compared with 2025, when it incurred substantial costs associated with its planned maintenance shutdown. Operating earnings more than doubled to US$44m from US$19.6m in the first half of 2025.


Brazil: Cement sales in Brazil rose by 3% year-on-year to 6.2Mt in July 2026, according to the National Cement Industry Union (SNIC). Year-to-date sales reached 39Mt, up by 2% year-on-year. The North and Northeast regions maintained growth, while the other regions recorded stable sales, with the exception of Southern Brazil, which was affected by heavy rains.

Sales of construction materials fell by 3% in the first half of 2026. In the real estate market, sales grew by 4% in the first quarter of 2026, while new project launches fell by 5%. The Minha Casa, Minha Vida housing programme, which accounts for 49% of housing supply, recorded a 10% rise in sales but a 10% fall in new launches year-on-year.

SNIC president Paulo Camillo Penna said "The resilience of sectoral sales is underpinned by positive labour market indicators, with record highs in employment and a decline in informality. However, this momentum is constrained by high household indebtedness and an outlook of persistent pressure from interest rates and inflation, alongside a recurring labour shortage. Furthermore, the geopolitical environment has deteriorated significantly regarding relations with two of our key trading partners: the US and Argentina."


Argentina: Total cement despatches in Argentina fell by 8% year-on-year to 0.8Mt in July 2026, and accumulated despatches in the first seven months of 2026 fell by 4% year-on-year to 5.5Mt. Domestic despatches fell by 8% year-on-year to 0.8Mt in July 2026, while exports fell by 49% to 1744t, from 3502t in July 2025. Domestic consumption in the first seven months of 2026 dropped by 3% year-on-year to 5.47Mt. Imports fell by 39% to 190t in July 2026.


Uganda: The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has announced new measures requiring cement retailers to install verified weighing scales at their place of business. It also urged builders to verify the weight of every cement bag before purchase, following reports of underweight products on the market. The move comes in response to public concern after Tororo Cement bags labelled as 50kg allegedly weighed between 40kg and 42kg. UNBS executive director James Kasigwa said investigations had established that cement producers comply with national quality and weight standards, with most cases of underweight cement resulting from tampering by traders after the products leave the plant. Kasigwa urged consumers to buy cement bearing the UNBS Quality Mark as proof that it meets the country's quality standards.

UNBS market surveillance uncovered three retailers in Mukono, Mbale and Nakasongola districts selling underweight cement. Investigations established that suspects collected empty cement bags from construction sites, opened genuine bags, siphoned out part of the cement, resealed the packaging and resold the products to unsuspecting buyers.

"The warehouses were sealed off, the suspects were arrested and are being prosecuted for their illegal actions," Kasigwa said.


Mexico: Cooperativa La Cruz Azul’s plant in Hidalgo is preparing to restart production, with the goal of recovering production levels it recorded prior to 2021, according to La Jornada which cited a statement by the company. The company regained control of the cement plant in May 2026 after a five-year internal dispute ended in February 2026. It said in May 2026 that rehabilitation of the plant was expected to be completed within three months. It had previously halted production in 2021. It said that it expects to achieve a 17% growth in cement production by the end of 2026.

“This plant has historical significance because it represents not only our origins, but also those of the cement industry in Mexico. We are completing our testing phase and have followed a very strict programme to ensure that production maintains our quality standards,” said chair of the board Victor Velázquez.


Iraq/Syria: The Iraq-based Al-Qaim Cement plant has reportedly reached its full production capacity of 0.84Mt/yr and has begun to increase exports to Syria, according to Iraqi News which cited an announcement by the Ministry of Industry and Minerals. The plant produces 70,000t/month of suphate-resistant cement and exports 7500t of that to Syria. The plant is powered by a 30MW power station, decreasing its reliance on the national grid and eliminating interruptions to production. It launched its first cement exports to Syria through the Al-Waleed border crossing in May 2026.


Austria: Rohdorfer Zement has increased the capacity of the pilot CO₂ capture facility at its Rohrdorf cement plant to 99%. The facility can now capture 2t/day of CO₂, up from 0.9t previously. This is due to a second absorption column, which was installed in March 2026, directly behind the first. The facility also employs an oxystripper from Andritz, which has been use since July 2026. The oxystripper removes approximately 90% of the oxygen dissolved in the amine scrubbing solution to increase both the purity of the captured CO2 and the lifespan of the scrubbing solution.

“Since the capture plant went online, we have been working consistently to further increase the plant’s performance and energy efficiency. With the second column and the oxystripper, we have reached an important milestone in this effort. At the same time, these measures have enabled us to further improve CO2 quality in a targeted manner and to come significantly closer to meeting the very challenging requirements for storage,” said Christian Räthel, Head of CCUS for Rohrdorfer’s Net Zero Emissions Team.


Peru: Cemento Yura has inaugurated what it says is the first 3D printer for cementitious materials in Peru, according to local press. The new equipment has been unveiled in collaboration with Spain-based firm Be More 3D. It will be used to develop high-performance materials, manufacture complex prototypes and create construction solutions. It will primarily be used in Yura’s research and development laboratory to automate the manufacturing of large parts and reducing the need for moulds and formwork. The printer will work with traditional mixtures, but allow for research into the use of alternative cements, geopolymers, clays and local resources like pozzolan. It has invited universities, construction companies and designers to join the project.