02 October 2024

Bangladesh: Confidence Cement is building a new 1.8Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Narsingdi. The project has an investment of US$68m, according to the Daily Star newspaper. Germany-based Loesche is reportedly supplying equipment for the unit, which is scheduled to start operation in early 2025. Around two-thirds of the project cost is being supplied by loans with the rest coming from company equity.

Confidence Cement currently operates a 1.2Mt/yr grinding plant near Chattogram.

Germany: Norway-based Capsol Technologies has won a feasibility study from a German cement producer to assess the implementation of its CapsolEoP (End-of-Pipe) technology at a cement plant. The technology aims to capture 400,000t/yr of CO₂.

CEO Wendy Lam said "Capsol continues to build a position as a preferred carbon capture technology provider for the cement industry."

India: JSW Cement has commissioned another 2Mt/yr of grinding capacity at its Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka, increasing the plant's total capacity to 6Mt/yr. The expansion, which cost US$55m, increases the company's overall capacity to over 20Mt/yr.  JSW Cement was set to raise US$476m through an initial public offering (IPO), but the Securities and Exchange Board of India has placed the IPO plans ‘in abeyance’ as of September 2024, according to the Economic Times. Funds from the IPO were earmarked for debt repayment and financing a new unit in Nagaur, Rajasthan.

Chief executive officer Nilesh Narwekar said "This new capacity at Vijayanagar is a significant step towards increasing our overall capacity to 40.8Mt/yr while maintaining our commitment to sustainability."

Saudi Arabia: Turboden, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, has announced its first project in Saudi Arabia — a 13MW organic rankine cycle (ORC) power plant at Riyadh Cement Company. This marks the first ORC plant in the Kingdom and the largest globally.

The plant will capture residual heat from the cement plant's clinker coolers and pre-heaters (2 kilns of 5000t/day each), offering high energy efficiency and eliminating water consumption. Sinoma Energy Conservation serves as the project's engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

General manager Andrea La Gioia said "Turboden is honoured to spearhead this groundbreaking project in collaboration with Riyadh Cement Company. With around 460 ORC plants in 52 countries, 50 in ‘waste’ heat recovery application, our ORC technology represents a game-changer in the global energy landscape, and we are proud to support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its transition towards cleaner, more sustainable energy sources."

India: UltraTech Cement will procure an additional 7MW of wind-solar hybrid power production capacity from Continuum MP Windfarm, increasing total procurement from 14MW to 21MW. This power is supplied from its 100MW project in Ratlam District in Madhya Pradesh. To facilitate this, UltraTech has raised its shareholding in Continuum MP Windfarm from 3.28% to 5.46% by investing approximately US$2.9m. The acquisition is expected to complete within 120 days following amendments to the power purchase Agreement, share purchase agreement, and shareholders agreement.

Ghana: The Minister of Trade and Industry, Kobina Hammond, has directed cement manufacturers to secure licences or cease operations immediately, in compliance with the new Ghana Standards Authority's (GSA) Manufacture of Cement Regulation, 2023 (LI 2480). This regulation mandates re-registration and licensing of existing operations and bars unlicensed new plants. It came into law in 2024 and seeks to address consumer concerns over rising cement prices and promote quality assurance.

Director-General of the GSA, Alex Dodoo, stated that all current manufacturers are operating illegally without a licence. Dodoo said that none of the cement producers in the country had applied for a licence to operate in accordance with the law.