August 2025

France: LafargeHolcim has been awarded contracts worth Euro110m as part of the Euro38.5bn Grand Paris Express (GPE) project. The GPE will improve transport infrastructure in Paris in preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games. It will require around 200km of new railway line and 68 new stations.

LafargeHolcim will deliver 600,000t of aggregates and 260,000t of cement to produce 650,000m³ of ready-mix concrete. To support the project’s schedule, the company has added mobile ready-mix concrete plants to its existing Parisian ready-mix concrete network, enabling an average production of 300m³/hr for the GPE. It will remove and treat at least 3Mt of earth from the construction site, then use the excavated material to re-landscape its nearby quarries. For the transportation of both aggregates coming from nearby quarries situated in the Seine valley and the excavated earth, LafargeHolcim will use barges on the River Seine. The company aims to work on the GPE over the next 15 years.

“We are proud to be a key partner on this historic project. With this partnership we are demonstrating our leadership in the building materials industry, making a lasting contribution to improving the transport experience of the people living and working in the Paris area. The project once more shows our capacity and reliability in delivering a large amount of high-quality concrete and our ability to provide efficient logistics and supply solutions,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Jan Jenisch.

Morocco: HeidelbergCement has sold a 7.8% share of its stake in Ciments du Maroc to an unnamed local investor for around Euro140m. Following the transaction the German building materials producer retains a controlling share of 54.6% in its subsidiary. It has reduced its stake in Ciments du Maroc as part of its action plan to optimise its portfolio and improve cash generation. The group has a target of Euro1.5bn of asset divestments by the end of 2020.

“HeidelbergCement is fully committed to remain the long-term majority shareholder of Ciments du Maroc, a key strategic asset within the group’s portfolio,” said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.

Angola: Nova Cimangola says that it is not being nationalised by the government. It has made the statement in response to local media reports that a state-led takeover is being considered as part of decree by President João Lourenço, according to the Jornal de Negócios newspaper. The cement company asserted that it is a private company with no public funding and that its financial, contractual and legal states are all in order. The company operates a 2.4Mt/yr integrated plant in Luanda.

Armenia: Tigran Khachatryan, the Minister of Economic Development and Investments, plans to implement tariffs on imported cement to protect local producers. A rate of around US$45/t will be imposed, according to the Arkan News Agency. In a cabinet session Khachatryan said that imports of cement had increased three times in the last year due to a ‘significant’ fall in the price of electricity in neighbouring countries and state subsidies to cement plants. He added that, subsequently, two local cement plants, with a combined production capacity of 2Mt/yr, were unable to sell even a third of their products.

India: The Cement Manufacturers' Association (CMA) of India has signed a four-year wage settlement agreement with federations of major central trade unions, giving a raise of around US$70/month and other benefits. The agreement was signed with Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), according to the Press Trust of India. It will last from 1 April 2018 until 31 March 2022 and it is expected to apply to around 20,000 workers in the sector. The CAM represents 21 cement companies and it covers 60% of the country's total cement production capacity.

Trinidad: Austria’s Unitherm Cemcon has been awarded the contract for a rotary kiln burner for kiln 3 at Trinidad Cement’s 1230t/day plant. The burner for the wet process unit will be designed for natural gas and liquid alternative fuel. No value for the order has been disclosed.

The scope of supply includes: one MAS/5/EGSO model rotary kiln burner; a flame monitoring device for the rotary kiln burner; a gas electric ignition burner with control box and touch screen; kiln burner trolley engineering and main components for local manufacturing; primary air fan with sound protection housing; and an emergency cooling air fan.

Other recent projects from Unitherm Cemcon include the commissioning of a firing system for BUA Cement’s new plant in Edo State, Nigeria and delivery of firing equipment for a project in Argentina in late 2018.

Jamaica: Caribbean Cement’s revenue rose year-on-year by 6% to US$133m in 2018 from US$125m in 2017. Its profit more than doubled to US$18.7m to US$8.4m.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has completed an upgrade at its La Union cement plant in Bacnotan. The unit now has a cement production capacity of 1.8Mt/yr from 1Mt/yr previously, according to the Manila Times newspaper. The improvements have been completed two months ahead of schedule. The upgrade is intended to support the development of North Luzon.

The expansion is part of a US$300m production capacity drive at its plants in the country. It plans to increase its national production capacity by 30% to 13Mt/yr by 2020. The second phase of the project involves installing new kilns, mills and a waste-recovery system at its plants in Bulacan and Misamis Oriental provinces.

India: JK Cement has invested nearly US$65m towards building two new grinding plants at Balasinor in Gujarat and Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. The Balasinor plant will have a production capacity of 0.7Mt/yr, according to the United News of India. It will cost US$35m to build. The Aligarh plant will have an investment of US$30m.

UAE: Fujairah Natural Resources plans to build a clinker plant at a cost of US$150m at Habbab in Fujairah. Production at the site will start in December 2019, according to Emirates News Agency. The project is intended to boost the cement industry in Fujairah.