North Korea: A project to expand capacity at the Kyongam Cement Factory in North Hwanghae Province has been completed, according to Korean News. It reported that a ‘large-capacity’ cement production line with modern and efficient equipment had been established. The expansion will increase production of cement to support construction projects across the province, using locally available raw materials and resources.

Pak Chang Ho, chief secretary of the North Hwanghae Provincial Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, attended the inauguration ceremony on 29 January 2026 with provincial officials, local working people in Pongsan County and plant employees. After the ceremony, participants toured the plant.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has expanded its range of products backed by the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification to two cements produced in plants in the states of Paraná and Ceará, increasing the number of its products with EPD certification in Brazil to 17. In 2026, two new cement classes will receive certification from EPD Brasil: CP II-E 40 produced at the Pecém plant in Ceará and CP II-F 40 produced at the Rio Branco do Sul plant in Paraná. The producer also maintained EPD certifications for CP II-E 40, CP V ARI and CP III 40 RS cements produced at its Santa Helena plant in Votorantim, São Paulo.

EPDs provide third-party verified information on environmental impacts across the full product lifecycle, including energy, fuel and water consumption, logistics, waste management and transport.

Tunisia: Les Ciments de Bizerte recorded continued shutdown of clinker production in 2025 due to lack of petcoke and insufficient financial resources to secure imports, according to African Manager news. The producer refocused operations on grinding imported or locally acquired clinker and on lime production to maintain its limited market presence and cash flow. Clinker production remained at zero for the full 2025 financial year. Cement production fell to 119,000t from 129,000t in 2024, down by 8% year-on-year, although fourth-quarter output rose to 36,800t, up by 28% year-on-year, following a temporary increase in grinding activity supported by targeted clinker supplies. Lime production reached 833t in the fourth quarter, up by 69% year-on-year from 494t, driven by sustained domestic demand. Sales rose to US$14.2m in 2025, up by 31% year-on-year. Total debt stood at US$43m at the end of 2025.

India: UltraTech Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to explore and pilot a circularity initiative for used lubricating oils in the Indian cement industry. Under the agreement, the producer will collaborate with HPCL to reprocess used lubricating oils from UltraTech’s cement plants into re-refined base oil at HPCL’s Green Research and Development Centre in Bangalore, with HPCL to explore the development of finished lubricants that meet UltraTech’s performance specifications. The MoU aligns with the Central Pollution Control Board’s extended producer responsibility guidelines for used oil and establishes a framework for collection, handling, recycling and reuse.

UltraTech recorded a ~6% thermal substitution rate in the 2025 financial year, using 2.1Mt of alternative fuels in its kilns. It also used 44Mt of recycled and alternative raw materials in cement production during the same period.