Mexico: Mexico’s cement demand could grow by just over 2% in 2026, supported by federal housing and infrastructure projects, according to the CEO of the National Chamber of Cement (CANACEM) Julio Cedeño Fernández. The Housing for Wellbeing programme will target construction of 1.8m homes, creating a ‘significant’ demand for cement. Other infrastructure projects, whilst still in their early stages, may also drive the demand. The outlook follows a weak 2025 for construction activity, and uncertainty still persists, but the outlook for 2026 is expected to be more favourable.

Julio Cedeño Fernández said “We are coming off of a difficult year, but as an industry we have positive expectations. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement review creates uncertainty, but we are prepared. We hope that this year, with the boost from housing, the sector can recover or even grow further. We view the government’s plans with optimism, but they need to start being implemented.”

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo, part of Holcim, reported sales of US$159m in the first quarter of 2026, up by 11% year-on-year. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 32% to US$50.7m. The company said that the positive results were primarily due to higher sales of cement and concrete. Net profit increased to US$23m, up by 55%, and cement volumes reached 785,000t, up by 10%. Clinker volumes rose by 12% to 576,000t, driven by high cement demand.

Annual cement production capacity at the Pacasmayo, Piura and Rioja plants remained stable at 2.9Mt, 1.6Mt and 0.44Mt respectively. Installed clinker production capacity for the year at the plants was 1.8Mt, 0.99Mt and 0.29Mt respectively. Cement capacity utilisation reached 63.5% and clinker capacity utilisation was 76%.

India: JK Cement has secured 70MW of solar powered electricity for its Nimbahera plant in Rajasthan through a partnership with Oriana Power, including an equity investment of US$446,000 into a project led by the supplier. JK Cement will purchase a 26% stake in a special purpose vehicle to deliver the project under a captive user model. The electricity will be supplied under a power purchase agreement.

Nigeria: The Edo State government signed an agreement with a Chinese firm on 27 April 2026 to build a 10Mt/yr cement plant, according to local press. State Commissioner for Information and Strategy Kasim Afegbua stated in a press conference in Benin City that groundwork on the project will begin by the mid-May 2026.

“By the middle of next month, the first step towards realising the dream of producing 10Mt/yr of cement will commence. We are hopeful that even the commencement of the project alone will generate employment and help tackle social vices,” he said.