22 July 2024

Cameroon: Cimpor has inaugurated its new plant in Kribi, Cameroon. Following investments in Côte d'Ivoire, Cimpor embarked on this greenfield project in February 2020, integrating the ‘world's first’ operational flash calcined clay production line, launched on 29 October 2023.

Cimpor Cameroun now has an output of 1.2Mt/yr of cement and 0.4Mt/yr of calcined clay. Cimpor's calcined clay production technology - ‘deOHclay’ – reportedly saves up to 80% in CO₂ emissions, up to 35% in electricity consumption and up to 40% in thermal energy consumption per tonne. Compared to a plant with a similar capacity, this technology could reduce CO₂ emissions by around 0.2Mt/yr, according to the company. The new plant will reduce the country’s dependence on imports to meet local cement needs.

Chad: The Group Cement of Africa (CIMAF) plans to raise the production capacity of its Chad cement plant from 0.5Mt/yr to 0.7Mt/yr. Anas Sefrioui, President of CIMAF, conveyed this intention to Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, with the intention to meet market demands, reduce costs and create jobs. Sefrioui also announced that the official price of cement bags from the plant will be revised to alleviate public costs. The CIMAF cement plant in Lamadji, north of N'Djamena, commenced operations in June 2017.

India: UltraTech Cement reported a flat net profit for the three month period ending 30 June 2024 of US$203m, compared to US$202m in the same period in 2023. The company's income rose by 2% to US$2.18bn, while domestic sales volumes grew 7% year-on-year to 32Mt, despite a 9% decline from the previous quarter. EBITDA slightly declined to US$383m from US$384m.

Nigeria: The Joint Committee of the House of Representatives is investigating the sharp rise in cement prices in the country. Major industry players, including Dangote Cement and Lafarge Africa, must submit detailed production cost documents to justify the market price of cement. The committee plans to visit the production plants after reviewing these financial records to establish the cost of production and determine a fair price for cement. The inquiry covers production costs from 2020 to July 2024.

One committee member pointed out that Dangote Cement has continued to make significant profits despite sourcing most of its raw materials locally, and questioned why the price of cement keeps rising whilst producers continue to profit. In response, Dangote Cement’s Managing Director, Mr Arvind Pathack, attributed 95% of production costs to imports or foreign exchange impacts, noting significant increases in input costs and logistical challenges exacerbated by the poor state of infrastructure and foreign exchange limitations. The committee called for a review of company policies to potentially lower prices, criticising the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCC)’s inactivity in addressing the pricing issue.

Chair of the Committee, Jonathan Gaza, said “We are extremely hopeful that this engagement will lead to a reduction in the price of cement. FCCPC has slept on their functions so far; their inactivity and unresponsiveness to price is what has put Nigeria where we are today.”

Uzbekistan: Cement manufacturers in Uzbekistan produced 6.2Mt of cement from January to May 2024, reflecting 35% growth year-on-year, according to data from the local Statistics Agency. In May 2024, production was at 1.7Mt.