Morocco: Ciments du Maroc has reached a milestone in its ALGACEM initiative with the first delivery of CO₂-derived products under the ALGACE brand from its Safi cement plant. The pilot project captures and recovers CO₂ using microalgae, transforming the carbon captured during the cement production process into bioproducts.

The company said the result confirms the technical and economic feasibility of the project and its compatibility with existing industrial infrastructure, laying the groundwork for a reproducible model for the wider cement sector.

Spain: Maritime traffic between the ports managed by the Valencia Port Authority - Valencia, Sagunto and Gandia - and Israel rose by 25% in 2024. The ports of Valencia and Sagunto maintain a direct connection with Ashdod, 40km south of Tel Aviv. Since the start of the conflict in Gaza and until September 2025, Israel has imported more than 165,000t of white cement from the Port of Valencia, compared to virtually none in 2023, according to official data from the Port of Valencia via the El Diario newspaper. Up to 15 ships carrying white cement from Çimsa Cementos’ Buñol plant have reportedly departed from Sagunto for Ashdod. Industry experts said these exports represent around 12% of Buñol’s 700,000t/yr capacity. For comparison, Holcim’s Sagunto plant produces 110,000t/yr of white cement.

Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan: The head of Kazakhstan’s Cement and Concrete Producers Association (QazCem), Erbol Akimbayev, has claimed that Uzbekistan’s Cabinet of Ministers issued a confidential order in July 2025 that disrupted cement exports from Kazakhstan, ‘severely impacting’ bilateral trade.

Akimbayev alleged that the document requires Kazakh exporters to declare cement at a price 10 times higher than normal and pay taxes accordingly, making exports unprofitable, according to local press.

Akimbayev said “As a result, in August 2025, imports of Kazakh cement to Uzbekistan dropped to zero for the first time in seven years. At that price, no one in Uzbekistan will buy it. But if Uzbekistan acts this way, Kazakhstan has every right to introduce reciprocal measures.”

He added that the association is in discussions with government bodies and industry partners, warning that reciprocal measures could lead to a fall in imports from Uzbekistan. He suggested that Uzbekistan is seeking to protect its domestic producers amid market oversupply ‘by any means necessary.’

Libya: Hungary-based company Rotary International has proposed building a new cement plant in Libya as part of the country’s infrastructure reconstruction programme. The project was presented during talks in Tripoli between the company and Mustafa Al-Samou, undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, according to Zawya news. The ministry said in a statement that the facility will use ‘environmentally friendly’ technologies to boost local cement production, meet domestic demand and reduce reliance on imports. The talks also covered broader cooperation and investment opportunities in the building materials sector to expand industrial activity and attract foreign expertise and capital.