24 March 2025

Philippines: The Pacific Cement Corporation (PACEMCO), one of Mindanao's largest cement manufacturers, reopened its plant in Surigao City, Barangay on 21 March 2025. The plant had been closed for 11 years due to financial constraints. The reopening was made possible through investments by San Miguel Corporation (SMC), which aims to revive the plant's operations and boost local economic activity.

John Paul Ang, SMC’s vice chair and CEO, led the inauguration alongside Surigao City Mayor Pablo Yves Dumlao II, Surigao del Norte Governor Robert Lyndon Barbers and Representative Robert Ace Barbers. “PACEMCO was a big part of Surigao's history and one of the region's largest companies. It is a Filipino-owned and controlled cement factory," Ang said.

Mayor Dumlao emphasised the potential of the reopening to create employment and stimulate economic growth, saying "The return of PACEMCO means new opportunities for employment, stronger local enterprise and increased revenue.”

Tunisia: Wan Li, the Chinese Ambassador to Tunisia, has revealed that a ‘Chinese company specialising in the cement sector’ is preparing to acquire a cement plant close to the capital city Tunis. The value of the transaction is reported to be more than US$100m. If completed, it would be the first Chinese investment in Tunisia in the 2020s.

Li said "We are confident that this state-of-the-art company will introduce modern techniques and upgrade the plant's equipment, which will have a positive impact on the environment." He also assured that this acquisition will improve the productivity and efficiency of the cement plant.

Egypt: Misr Cement Group has announced an increase in its financial performance for 2024, reporting a net profit of US$5.4m. This represents a 136% increase year-on-year compared to 2023, when it made just US$2.3m. The company said that its growth underscored its successful cost optimisation, operational efficiency and market expansion policies, despite economic challenges.

Hassan Gabry, managing director and CEO of Misr Cement Group, said “The significant profit increase is a testament to the strength of our strategies and the efficiency of our management. We remain committed to expanding both locally and internationally while reinforcing our leadership in the cement industry across the region.”

Australia/Europe: The European Commission (EC) has approved a deal that will see Heidelberg Materials and Holcim acquire joint control of Australian business BGC Cementitious via their joint venture Cement Australia. BGC Cementitious, the cementitious division of the Buckeridge Group of Companies, is active in the cement, concrete, quarrying, asphalt and transportation sectors. The EC concluded that the planned deal would not hurt competition given the limited impact on the European Economic Area. The transaction includes, among others, the Kwinana Cement plant in Western Australia. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Spain: Cement consumption grew by 8.6% year-on-year across Spain in February 2025 to reach 1.27Mt, around 0.1Mt more than in February 2024, according to the latest data published by the national cement association Oficemen. In the cumulative figures for the first two months of 2025, consumption was 2.4Mt, 0.2Mt (9.4%) higher than the equivalent figures for 2024. Rolling year-on-year data - covering March 2024 to February 2025 - showed consumption of 15.1Mt, a 4.4% increase compared to the year earlier period.

Aniceto Zaragoza, CEO of Oficemen, said “Although it is still early to make assessments, it is significant to note that February 2025 was the highest cement consumption month since 2011. This confirms a certain continuity in the positive trend we experienced at the end of 2024 and which we expected to continue in 2025.”

Cement exports from Spain fell by 15.3% in February 2025 to 0.31Mt, 55,627t less than in February 2024. In rolling year figures, exports fell by 5.1% over the 12-month period, to reach 4.8Mt.