Global Cement News

On 9 June 2025 the Nepalese government announced the shock closure of the state-owned Udayapur Cement Industry, which operates the 0.4Mt/yr Jaljale cement plant in the high-altitude Terhathum District.¹ No express reason for the closure has been forthcoming. A little digging is therefore required…

Nationally, Nepal is home to 13 integrated and 16 grinding plants,² which sounds like a lot. However, with a total capacity of 12.3Mt/yr between them, each plant – many of which are quite aged and in need of modernisation - has an average capacity of 0.4Mt/yr. Amid chronic low demand, the capacity utilisation rate in some regions is as low as 40-50%.³

The planned closure of the Udayapur Cement Industry is all the more surprising considering that it only resumed operations on 24 April 2025 following the suspension of operations at the end of November 2024. The plant resumed production at 400t/day, half of its capacity, despite a US$42m upgrade as recently as February 2022 that had expanded it from 0.3Mt/yr to 0.4Mt/yr!

Upon re-opening in April 2025, the plant said that it had sufficient coal to maintain operations for at least 12 days and that it had a secure supply of electricity from the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (although it did also have unpaid electricity bills…). It has since been able to secure more coal, which must be imported through tortuously narrow passes from India. As well as securing coal, the plant’s altitude, some 1800m above sea level, complicates electrical infrastructure supplies. Back in 2019, the pre-expansion Jaljale cement plant was reduced to periods of just 13% capacity utilisation, with power cuts occurring at a rate of more than 60 in a single year, with six once hitting in a single day.

Back to the current year, Nepali cement producers faced an additional challenge on 15 February 2025, when a court issued a ‘show cause’ notice over seasonal price rises that had taken effect in December 2024. Bizpati News reported producers’ explanations that they were not in a cartel, including the admission that they were already operating at a loss.⁴ The situation got worse on 4 June 2025, when the government raised sales taxes from US$0.08/bag to 5% of the sales’ value.⁵ In order to protect their margins, producers raised prices by US$0.15-0.18/bag. According to Ravi Singh, president of the Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal, this has meant that contractors are now struggling to purchase cement. He accused manufacturers of cutting production by up to 40% to create an artificial shortage, calling it ‘a tactic to manufacture scarcity and exploit the situation.’ Producers defended the price rise, claiming it corrects previous underpricing caused by ‘unhealthy competition.’

Regardless of who can shout the loudest, it is clear that there is just too much cement capacity in Nepal. While exports to India, itself not completely lacking in cement, have helped, more plants are likely to close. Back in Jaljale, Udaypur Cement Industry’s workers, their families, other local stakeholders and political parties have united in signing a memorandum of understanding in opposition to the closure. They too are asking: Why call time on a plant that was recently upgraded… and how can we keep the gates open?

References

1. https://www.globalcement.com/news/item/18859-nepali-government-announces-shock-closure-of-udayapur-cement-industry
2. Global Cement Directory 2025, Pro Global Media Ltd., Epsom, UK, 2025.
3. https://www.globalcement.com/news/item/17800-nepal-exports-us-3-81m-worth-of-cement-to-india-via-kakarvitta-crossing-in-2024-financial-year
4. https://bizpati.com/industry/88192
5. New Business Age News, ‘Cement price rises to Rs. 22 per bag,’ 4 June 2025, https://abhiyandaily.com/article/simenttko-muuly-boraamai-22-rupaiyaansmm-bddhyo

World: Dominik von Achten, CEO of Heidelberg Materials, has been elected as the new President of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA). He was officially confirmed as President at the GCCA Global CEO Gathering and Leaders Conference in Mexico City, Mexico, in June 2025. He has been GCCA Vice President since 2023 and succeeds the outgoing President, Fernando Gonzalez, whose term of office now ends after two years, and who recently retired as CEO of Cemex.

Dr von Achten said “It is a great honour to be elected President of the GCCA. Cement and concrete are essential to modern life. Our building materials are here to stay, as they are versatile, durable, 100% recyclable and locally produced. As their custodians, we are working with all available levers to deliver on our ambitious 2050 net zero roadmap. Our members and industry are taking continuous action to reduce CO2 emissions. I am convinced that concrete can become the world’s most sustainable building material – through continued innovation, active collaboration and by driving global excellence.”

UK: Gauthier Autrand has been appointed as the new Plant Manager of Holcim UK’s Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire, England. He has more than 20 years of construction experience in the UK and around the world, having managed significant facilities in France, Belgium and Kazakhstan. Throughout his career, he has spent much time developing Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)-related partnerships with politicians in various countries to bring the education system in line with the specific needs of the construction industry, and to help address the sector’s growing skills gap.

Holcim UK’s Cauldon cement plant is central to Holcim UK’s involvement in the Peak Cluster initiative, one of the UK’s ‘most ambitious’ CCUS projects. Set to launch in 2031, Peak Cluster aims to capture CO₂ from cement and lime production in Staffordshire and neighbouring Cheshire and Derbyshire, safely storing it under the Irish Sea.

Canada: Concrete carbon capture technology producer CarbonCure Technologies has appointed Kristal Kaye as Interim CEO. Kaye previously served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer and, in that capacity, has already been deeply engaged with CarbonCure’s team, strategy and day-to-day operations. Her appointment comes as CarbonCure’s founder, Robert Niven, steps away from the CEO role. Niven will remain a strong supporter of CarbonCure, continuing to serve on the company’s Board of Directors.

Under Niven’s leadership, CarbonCure developed and commercialised the most widely-deployed carbon utilisation solution for lower-carbon concrete manufacturing. Over the past decade, CarbonCure has licensed hundreds of its CO2 injection systems to concrete producers across more than 20 countries, permanently mineralising and reducing nearly 0.6Mt of CO₂.

“Everyone at CarbonCure feels deep gratitude to Rob for his pioneering carbon utilisation innovation for lower carbon concrete and his tireless dedication to CarbonCure over the past 13 years, with many years of research and development before that,” said Kaye. “Stepping into this interim role, I am eager to carry Rob’s legacy forward, and our entire team remains committed to that mission, our core values and the success of our concrete producer partners around the world.”

Pakistan: Five companies have signalled interest in bidding for Attock Cement. These include Alpha Cement Company, Bestway Cement and Cherat Cement Company, along with military investment fund Fauji Foundation and utilities provider Kot Addu Power Company. Pakistan Today News has reported that Fauji Foundation and Kot Addu Power Company’s plans consist of a joint acquisition of 84% of Attock Cement, followed by a mandatory public offer for the free float. Alpha Cement Company, meanwhile, may seek to buy as much as 92%, through a follow-on offer.

Attock Cement commands 3Mt/yr of capacity in South Pakistan, reportedly an increasingly attractive region, amid the on-going ‘revival’ of exports from Karachi port.

Alpha Cement Company was incorporated in Karachi in November 2024.