19 March 2025

Cameroon: Cameroon will increase its cement production capacity by 4.3Mt to 12.7Mt/yr by the end of 2025 with the addition of three new plants in Édéa, according to Business in Cameroon. The new facilities will help meet local demand and support exports.

The first plant, Sino Africaine (Sinafcim) is under construction and will have a 1Mt/yr capacity. It is set to begin production in April 2025. It will employ 200 workers and 90% will be Cameroonian. The second, Central Africa Cement (CAC), has been operational for several months with a 1.5Mt/yr capacity. It currently employs 100 people and aims to reach 200. The third, Yousheng Cement, is being built near Douala and will have a 1.8Mt/yr capacity. National demand in Cameroon is reportedly around 8Mt.

India: The Competition Commission of India has approved Ambuja Cements’ acquisition of Orient Cement, months after the Adani Group company announced the US$451m deal, according to The Economic Times.

Ambuja Cements first revealed plans to acquire Orient Cement in October 2024, intensifying its competition with rival UltraTech Cement.

The Indian cement sector has seen increased competition recently, with both UltraTech and Adani Group companies acquiring smaller firms to expand market share. Analysts had questioned whether the acquisition would secure regulatory approval due to industry oversupply concerns.

India: UltraTech Cement has increased its production capacity by 1.2Mt/yr through debottlenecking efforts. The producer said that it had identified multiple efficiency enhancement opportunities across various locations as part of its capacity expansion programmes. The additional capacity includes 0.8Mt/yr at the integrated Hirmi plant in Chhattisgarh and 0.4Mt/yr at the Roorkee grinding unit in Uttarakhand. Ultratech’s domestic cement capacity now reportedly stands at 179Mt/yr.

Spain: Cement consumption rose by 9% year-in-year in February 2025 to 1.27Mt, around 100,000t more than in February 2024, according to the latest statistics from Oficemen. Consumption for the first two months of 2025 reached 2.40Mt, up by 9%. In the 12 months to February 2025, total consumption rose by 4% to 15.1Mt.

“Although it is still early to make assessments, it is significant to note that last month was the February with the highest cement consumption since 2011, which confirms a certain continuity in the positive trend we experienced at the end of 2024 and which we expected to continue in 2025. Furthermore, our data is in line with other relevant indicators in the construction sector, whose performance is also positive, such as public tenders, which grew by 33.5% in January, and permits for new housing, which ultimately closed 2024 with 127,721 approved units,” said Oficemen general director Aniceto Zaragoza.

Exports fell by 15% to 0.3Mt in February 2025, a loss of 55,600t. In the 12 months to February 2025, exports fell by 5% to 4.80Mt.