Global Cement News

Kenya: Amsons Group, a Tanzanian business conglomerate with interests in power, construction, cement and concrete, has received regulatory approval from Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa’s (Comesa) Competition Commission for its proposed acquisition of up to 100% of Bamburi Cement. The commission confirmed that the proposed acquisition falls within its ambit and does not pose a competition risk within the common market, with a statement saying “It is unlikely that the proposed merger will lead to the creation of a dominant position that would enable the parties to engage in unilateral conduct in the market.”

In July 2024 Amsons Group issued a binding offer to acquire up to a 100% stake in Bamburi Cement through its Kenyan subsidiary and investment vehicle, Amsons Industries (K) Ltd.

Speaking as he welcomed the Comesa Competition Commission’s approval, Amsons Group CEO Edha Nahdi said that the transaction is part of the group’s strategy to expand its footprint to the Kenyan market and trade across East Africa, saying “The approval is a significant boost to our offer as we continue to engage investors of Bamburi Cement. We remain confident that our acquisition bid will be successful as it presents a win-win scenario for the investors and our two countries.”

Iraq: Sinoma International Engineering, China's largest provider of cement engineering services, has secured a US$351.5m engineering procurement contract to build a 1000MW solar power plant in Iraq for Mass Renewable Energy Production, part of the Mass Group which also operates a 6Mt/yr cement plant in Bazian, Iraq.

The turnkey contract, to be built in Al-Kut, will take 21 months to build, leading to completion by the third quarter of 2026.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has unveiled a Mathematics Masterclass for Senior Secondary School students from both public and private schools across Ewekoro and Sagamu Local Government Areas, where the company’s manufacturing plants are located. The company explained that the initiative, which was part of its corporate social responsibility efforts, aimed to address the high failure rates in mathematics and science subjects among students in its host communities.

At events held separately in Sagamu and Ewekoro, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, CEO of Lafarge Africa, emphasised the importance of mathematics as a key subject, stating “Mathematics is a fundamental subject that unites science and humanities. This is a major reason for why Lafarge is investing in it. We want to help students to improve in this subject and to better equip them for the future.”

Chile: Cementos Bío Bío (Cbb) will likely have new owners soon, as the US group Mississippi Lime Company has offered to acquire 100% of the company for nearly US$400m and shareholders are now negotiating its sale. The producer’s board authorised a due diligence process in May 2024, which has now been substantially concluded. A shareholder of Cbb, Peru's Yura, launched an offer in November 2024 for 20% of the Chilean cement company, thus reaching 40% of the shares. Yura bought 20% of Cbb for US$50m in 2019.

Belgium: Holcim has selected the joint venture between BESIX and DENYS as the main contractor for the civil works of the upgrade at its Obour, Mons, plant. The GO4ZERO project will produce nearly 2.3Mt/yr of carbon-neutral cementitious materials by 2029. In a separate contract, BESIX’s subsidiary Franki Foundations is handling the deep foundations. Work began in August 2024 and will conclude in February 2025.