26 November 2021

Nigeria: Finland-based Wärtsilä has secured another contract for the supply of a 70MW dual-fuel gas-fired power plant to BUA Cement, this time for the upcoming Line 3 of its Obu cement plant in Edo state. The Sun newspaper has reported that the line and a new fourth line at Sokoto cement plant will bring the company’s total cement capacity to 17Mt/yr when commissioned in 2022. BUA Cement is scheduled to commission the Sokoto cement plant’s new Line 3 in November 2021.

Chair Abdul Samad Rabiu said “Currently, we have phased out the use of coal across our factories and are now shifting to gas-powered plants. As we ramp up our capacity, there is need to complement it with efficient power supply and Wärtsilä’s technology has been found to be durable and uniquely aligned with our vision for more efficient power generation at all our production locations.”

India: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has awarded UltraTech Cement its Indian Circular Economy Award 2021 in the large enterprise category. The federation said that the award recognises UltraTech Cement's efforts to accelerate the development of a circular economic business model and celebrates its new impactful and innovative practices in 2021.

UK: Construction company Milestone Infrastructure used cement-free concrete supplied by DB Group subsidiary Cemfree to lay kerbs for a new road in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. The work consisted of a road widening in order to create new cycle and bus lanes with floating bus stops and an innovative cycle roundabout. Milestone Infrastructure built 13,000m² of new paths and cycle lanes, diverted 74 underground utilities and resurfaced 18,000m² of road. The project begun in February 2020.

India: Grasim Industries has reported a change to its shareholding arrangements. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has concluded its sale of a 2% of stake in the company. LIC retains 9.8% of shares.

India: The 5th National Conclave on Mines and Minerals has granted its Five Star mine management award to two Ramco Cements limestone mines. These are the Melavenkateswarapuram mine and Pudupalayam and Periyangalur mine in Tamil Nadu. This is the fourth successive year that the company has won a Five Star award for its mining operations in the state.