Algeria: Work on the construction of low CO₂ cement plant will commence shortly in Bellara, El Milia, according to the local Minister of Environment. The plant, a project by an Algerian-Emirati-Indian partnership, will produce cement using slag and fly ash from the nearby Bellara power station and steel complex, as well as its own clinker. It will have a capacity of 2Mt/yr for the local and export market. It will generate 143 direct jobs when fully operational.

India: The government of Haryana is investigating the transfer of around 122 acres belonging to the Associated Cement Companies’ (ACC) closed Bhupendra Cement plant to a Mumbai-based builder. According to Kalka MLA Latika Sharma, the land’s lease said it could only be used for industrial use, according to the Times of India newspaper. However, the builder it has been transferred to intends to build a town. Education minister Ram Bilas Sharma Sharma told the state congress that the Haryana Police had gathered ‘strong’ material on alleged irregularities in the entire issue and the government had decided to get the matter probed by the state vigilance bureau. The Bhupendra Cement plant at Surajpur near Pinjore was originally built in 1937. It was closed in 1997 on environmental grounds.

India: France’s Vicat plans to spend Euro223m towards upgrading a cement plant and building a new one in India. Group chairman Guy Sidos signed two memoranda of understanding on a recent French business delegation to India, according to the Economic Times newspaper. Vicat’s local subsidiary, Kalburgi Cement, plans to spend Euro140 on an upgrade to its Karnataka cement plant. The upgrade will add 2.25Mt/yr of cement capacity and will be completed by the first quarter of 2023. It also plans to invest Euro60m towards building a new 1.75Mt/yr plant in the Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. The new plant is scheduled for completion in mid-2022. Once both projects are completed Kalburgi Cement will have a total cement production capacity of 6.75Mt/yr from two units.

Cambodia: Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem says that a new 1.7Mt/yr cement plant in Battambang province is set to start production in mid-march 2017. Although the minister did not specify which plant was due to open, the only unit with that production capacity is Battambang Conch Cement, a joint venture between China’s Conch International Holdings and local cement firm Battambang KT Cement, according to the Phnom Penh Post newspaper. Construction at the site started in late 2016 with an investment of around US$230m. With the completion of this latest plant the country is now expected to be able to meet its own domestic demand with local supply.