23 August 2021

India: Holcim subsidiary Ambuja Cements has launched trial production at its new 3.0Mt/yr Marwar integrated cement plant in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district. The launch follows a total investment of US$316m in the plant’s construction. The plant is equipped with an additional 2.0Mt/yr of grinding of grinding capacity and a waste heat recovery (WHR) plant.

Managing director and chief executive officer Neeraj Akhoury said “It’s a proud moment for us at Ambuja Cements. Our endeavour shall always be to become a strong partner and a builder of progress for India."

China: China Tianrui Group has recorded first-half consolidated sales of US$883m in 2021, up by 9% year-on-year from US$809m in the first half of 2020. Cement sales volumes grew by 10.6% to 17.5Mt from 15.8Mt. Its profit attributable to owners was US$116m, up by 5% from US$111m. The group reported that the national cement industry recorded record production in the first half of 2021 however this slowed in May and June due to poor weather and increasing commodity prices.

Trinidad & Tobago: Barbados-based Rock Hard Cement has ended the operations of its Trinidad & Tobago-based subsidiary Rock Hard Distributors after losing a court case against the country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry in July 2021. The Barbados Today newspaper has reported that chief executive officer Mark Maloney said "Unfortunately, a limit on imports of 75,000t, combined with an import duty of 50%, means that Rock Hard Distributors simply cannot operate in Trinidad." He added, "it is with extreme sadness and disappointment, therefore, that we have closed our business in Trinidad and will now pursue opportunities in other Caribbean countries until such time as we are afforded equal treatment in our home country.”

Kenya: Cement producers recorded a 28% year-on-year increase in production in the first five months of 2021 to 3.35Mt from 2.65Mt in the first five months of 2020. The Business Daily newspaper has reported that the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics recorded a 27% increase in cement consumption to 3.35Mt from 2.64Mt. The increases follow a rise in infrastructure investment by the government, especially in the roads and dams segments. Increased credit requests by property developers also indicate a recovery in the private sector following the decline of the Covid-19 outbreak. Kenyan gross domestic product (GDP) growth is forecast at 6% in the 2021 full year.

Sri Lanka: Siam City Cement subsidiary Insee Cement says that it is operating at full capacity utilisation across its network, which includes a 3.6Mt/yr-integrated cement plant. The Daily News (Sri Lanka) newspaper has reported that the producer is responding to a shortage in the country due to the partial suspension of imports. It said that it has been able to do this thanks to the uninterrupted supply of raw materials by its parent company.

Chief executive officer Gustavo Navarro said, "Our consumers can be assured as always of full-capacity production and supply of Insee Cement to the market. We trust that we can curtail any unnecessary pressure on the Consumer Affairs Authority and government regulators who have been pressed for price hikes and hope to quell any disruptions to market supply across Sri Lanka."