Bangladesh Cement Industry Seeks Major Tax Reforms to Combat Slump
The Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association has asked the National Board of Revenue for sweeping tax cuts in the upcoming budget. It proposes replacing the 15% customs duty on clinker with a flat BDT 500 per tonne (about US$40.65), lowering machinery spare‑parts duty to 1%, and cutting advance income taxes on raw materials to 0.5%. The group also wants the 10% supplementary duty on limestone eliminated. With installed capacity of 100 Mt but utilisation down to 40 Mt in 2025, the industry argues tax relief is essential to restore production.
Stanford Develops Volcanic Rock Cement Alternative
Stanford researchers have created a low‑carbon cement called Phlego, using volcanic rock instead of limestone. The carbonate‑free igneous material eliminates CO₂ emissions from calcination, cutting cement‑related emissions by up to two‑thirds while matching performance. Phlego also offers a scalable alternative...
West China Cement Closes in on AfriSam Acquisition
West China Cement announced it will acquire 100% of AfriSam for a maximum cash consideration of SAR 2.5 bn (about US$145 m). The purchase, funded by internal cash and bank borrowings, adds 4.5 Mt of cement, 5 Mt of aggregate and 1.5 Mm³ of ready‑mixed concrete...
Work Resumes on INR 15bn Suryatara Cement Project
Construction on Nepal's Suryatara Cement Industry, a roughly NPR 15 bn ($114 m) project, has resumed after the provincial government addressed critical utility gaps. A 10 km access road linking Lakhrapata to the Madan Bhandari Highway is in its final phase, costing NPR 1.2 bn ($8 m) with...
Baltic CO2 Terminal Plans Advance to Support Cement CCS
Lithuania’s Environmental Protection Agency has moved the Klaipėda CO₂ transshipment terminal into the environmental impact assessment (EIA) phase, a key step for the CCS Baltic Consortium’s carbon capture and storage value chain. The terminal will receive CO₂ captured at cement...
PPC Boosts Sustainable Cement Production with 20MW Solar Launch
PPC Ltd has commissioned two 10 MW solar farms at its Slurry and Dwaalboom cement plants in South Africa, delivering renewable power directly to the production lines. The behind‑the‑meter installations, built with Sturdee Energy, use bifacial panels and single‑axis trackers to...
Unacem Chile Signs Cement Production Agreement with Transex
Unacem Chile has signed an agreement with Cementos Transex to manufacture cement at the Puente Alto plant in the Santiago metropolitan area. The deal lets Unacem use existing capacity, enhancing logistics and avoiding fresh capital investment. In the fourth quarter...
Geocycle to Invest US$125m in Latin America Co-Processing Capacity
Geocycle, Holcim's waste‑management unit, announced a $125 million investment to boost co‑processing capacity across Latin America by 2030. The funding builds on a $55 million spend that created 14 waste‑to‑fuel facilities, now delivering roughly 30% of the region’s thermal energy needs. In...
Tarmac Launches Biodiversity-Positive Habitat Banks
CRH‑owned Tarmac announced the launch of biodiversity‑positive habitat banks designed to deliver net biodiversity gain (BNG) on its construction sites across the UK. The banks will create quantifiable habitat credits that developers can purchase to offset the ecological impact of...
Australia Turns to Green Alternatives as Manufacturing Costs Rise
Rising fuel prices from Middle East tensions have pushed Australian building‑material costs up about 30%, prompting multinationals Holcim and Heidelberg Materials to add fuel surcharges of roughly US$6.10 and US$5.50 per cubic metre. At the same time, the industry is...
Cemtech Asia 2025 Highlights
Cemtech Asia 2025 took place at the Conrad Seoul from June 9‑12, gathering industry leaders from Asia, the Middle East & Africa, and Europe. The program spotlighted low‑carbon cement, AI‑driven process control, and alternative‑fuel strategies, with a calcined‑clay project in Ghana...
University of Regina and TCMA Partner for Carbon Capture Innovation
The University of Regina and Thailand’s Cement Manufacturers Association have partnered to ship a Canadian‑designed carbon‑capture pilot unit to Thailand. Funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada and overseen by UNIDO, the unit will demonstrate carbon capture, utilisation and storage...
Czech Group Warns of SCM Shortages as Coal Phase-Out Accelerates
The Association for Alternative Building Materials (ASAM) warns that the Czech Republic’s rapid coal‑phase‑out will slash supplies of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, slag and gypsum. Production of these by‑products, which peaked at about 7.5 Mt in 2025,...
Hoang Long Commissions 2.3Mta Cement Plant in Phu Tho
Vietnam’s Hoang Long Group has commissioned a new cement plant in Phu Tho province, adding 2.3 Mta of capacity. The facility includes a 7,200 tpd clinker line and was built with an investment of about VND 5 trn (≈US$196 m). It features a six‑stage pre‑heater...
Saudi Cement Sales Slump
Saudi cement sales dropped 6.7% year‑on‑year and 21.3% month‑on‑month to 3.37 Mt, according to Al Rajhi Capital. The first‑quarter total fell 4.7% to 12.76 Mt, reflecting holiday disruptions and recent geopolitical shifts. Market leadership stayed unchanged, with Yamama Cement at 14.2% share, followed...
Nigerian Homeownership Dreams Crumble as Cement Prices Soar
Nigeria’s home‑ownership outlook is deteriorating as cement prices have surged to NGN 11,000‑15,000 per 50 kg bag (US$8‑11) by March 2026. The spike pushes construction costs beyond the reach of low‑ and middle‑income earners, inflating property prices in Lagos, Abuja and other metros....
Wonder Cement Works with Sunsure Energy for Solar Power Expansion
Wonder Cement has signed three long‑term power purchase agreements with Sunsure Energy to source solar electricity for its Dhule and Aligarh plants. The deals cover 30 MWp of solar capacity, delivering 67% of Dhule’s and 52% of Aligarh’s power needs. The...
Construction Materials Imported From India Affected by Gas Shortages
India’s gas supply constraints are curtailing production at its ceramic plants, leading to a noticeable dip in UK imports of wall and floor tiles, exterior porcelain and sandstone. Manufacturers cite reduced furnace run‑times as gas prices spike and availability falters....
InterCement Completes Financial Restructuring
InterCement Participações announced the completion of the second closing step of its judicial reorganisation, effectively concluding the restructuring process on 6 April 2026. The plan transferred at least 99 percent of the company’s share capital to financial creditors, repurchased the Mover Group’s stake,...
Breedon Warns over UK CBAM Implementation Risks
Breedon Group has warned that the UK’s upcoming carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), slated for 1 January 2027, may not adequately shield domestic cement producers from low‑cost, high‑carbon imports. The company’s consultation response highlights uncertainties around the calculation of carbon intensity default...
Shree Cement Approves Integrated Plant in Meghalaya
Shree Cement’s board approved an integrated cement plant in Daistong village, East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. The facility will produce 0.95 million tonnes of clinker and 0.99 million tonnes of cement, requiring roughly INR 18 billion ($215 million) of investment, financed through internal accruals and debt....
TCC Targets European Growth in Low-Carbon Cement and Energy Storage
Taiwan‑based TCC Group Holdings is accelerating its European expansion, leveraging its recent acquisition of Portugal’s Cimpor to control over half the Portuguese cement market. Europe now represents 32.5% of TCC’s cement sales, the largest regional share, and the company plans...
Drone Strike Hits Iranian Cement Plant, Operations Unaffected
A drone strike hit Hormozgan Cement Co's Bandar‑e‑Khamir plant on April 4, but no casualties were reported and the facility stayed fully operational. Officials say production output and supply chains remain unchanged despite the attack. Damage details have not been disclosed,...
DPRK Cement Plants Report Production Gains
North Korean cement producers reported higher output as part of a broader push to raise industrial production. State media said the Sangwon Cement Complex completed calcination system repairs, added monitoring tools, and upgraded equipment, while raw‑material mines increased mechanisation. The...
Heidelberg Materials North America Completes BURNCO Acquisition
Heidelberg Materials North America has finalized the purchase of BURNCO’s Edmonton, Alberta assets, adding a cement plant and aggregate operations to its portfolio. The deal expands Heidelberg’s footprint in Western Canada, boosting regional production capacity and diversifying its product mix....
Knauf Signs MoU with Syrian Government
Knauf Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Syrian government to develop a long‑term partnership for supplying construction materials. The agreement focuses on establishing local production of gypsum board, insulation and related building products to support Syria’s post‑conflict...
Amrize Wins Dual Honours for Low-Carbon Concrete Innovation
Amrize captured two top honors in the Lower Carbon Concrete category at the Slag Cement Association’s April awards ceremony in Chicago. The first award recognized a collaboration with Meta and the University of Illinois that used Meta’s open‑source AI models...
Kyrgyz Republic Signs US$137.6m Cement Plant Agreement
Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers signed a $137.6 million investment agreement with China’s Shenfeng Zet Cement to build a new cement plant in the Chui region. The project will install a clinker line capable of producing 3,200 tonnes per day in the Kemin district’s...