08 July 2025

UK: Titan Group will build and operate a processing and beneficiating facility for ponded fly ash at the former Fiddler’s Ferry power station in Warrington, following a long-term agreement with site owner Peel NRE. The plant will process 300,000t/yr of wet fly ash from 2027, with scope to double the capacity at a later date. Titan will use the material in low-carbon cement, while Peel NRE will receive help to advance restoration of the site. The ash will reportedly meet BS EN 450 quality standards.

Peel NRE director Kieran Tames said “We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Titan, which follows years of hard work fully evaluating the potential to transform the waste ash material from the power station directly into a low-carbon construction product. This agreement has the potential to accelerate the recovery of waste ash from the lagoons, enabling their restoration and enhancement as envisaged by the development framework that was approved by the local authority last year. Through our partnership, existing customers will continue to source ash from the site, ensuring continuity of supply for their applications.”

Egypt: The Egyptian government has frozen the implementation of an earlier decision to reduce cement production capacities following a two-month suspension that took place during May and June 2025. The move aims to increase local supply and curb prices, which have reportedly been rising since the start of 2025 due to a decline in demand.

Shaimaa Aboulmagd, commercial director at Misr Beni Suef Cement, said the decision is expected to bring prices down further and that many cement companies have already started to reduce prices.

Ahmed El-Zeiny, head of the building materials division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, said the market is now anticipating price stabilisation due to increased supply, noting that the sector had recently faced reduced availability from higher exports and the closure of nine cement production lines.

Sri Lanka: Domestic cement demand rose to 4.71Mt since July 2024, up from 3.96Mt, according to Tokyo Cement. The company attributed the increase to the ‘latent demand and low base effect of the previous year.’ It said that local production has expanded, despite intensified competition from a new grinding operator and multiple cement importers, capitalising on the relaxed cement import restrictions. The company expects demand to improve further, supported by private sector-led construction and government infrastructure projects.

However, Tokyo Cement warned “The heightened volatility in the global trade policies and ongoing regional conflicts pose downside risks that add to the uncertainty and may jeopardise some of the hard-fought economic gains the country is working towards.”

It added “These factors may constrain capital inflows, dampen export prospects and impede economic recovery.”

Switzerland: Cement deliveries rose by 3% year-on-year to 0.99Mt in the second quarter of 2025, from April – June 2025, confirming a positive trend reversal that began earlier in the year, according to Cemsuisse.

The association called this trend ‘gratifying’, saying that the sector continues to benefit from favourable interest rates, and it expects continued strength in construction for the remainder of 2025. However, it noted a 3% year-on-year decline in the share of cement transported by rail to 35%, attributing this to ‘deteriorating’ rail freight conditions.

Vietnam: Vietnam produced 90Mt of cement in the first half of 2025, up by 15% year-on-year, according to the latest data from the government’s National Statistics Office. June 2025 production rose by 27% year-on-year to reach 17.1Mt in June 2025. Revised 2024 data showed full-year output at 184.2Mt, up by 3.5% year-on-year.