France: Cem'In'Eu is preparing to open a 0.24Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Montreuil-Bellay in Maine-et-Loire in 2021. The aspiring cement producer submitted planning and environmental permit applications in March 2018, according to the Le Moniteur des travaux publics et du bâtiment magazine. The company hopes to obtain authorisation for the project in the first half of 2019 and start construction work in 2020. Cement from the plant will be marketed under the ‘Val de Loire Ciments’ brand and targeted to central and western France.

Tunisia: Ciments de Bizerte has restarted exports of clinker and cement after a hiatus of ten years. A shipment of 25,000t of clinker disembarked from the cement producer’s port to Cameroon in early April 2018, according to La Presse de Tunisie newspaper. The local cement industry has an overcapcty of 1Mt/yr.

Kenya: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has committed US$96m to invest in National Cement towards upgrading a cement plant and building new grinding plants. National Cement’s chairman and chief shareholder Narendra Raval is also expected to invest US$102m into the expansion project, according to the Daily Nation newspaper. The company intends to build two grinding plants in Kenya and Uganda and a new 5500t/day clinker production line at its existing integrated plant in Merrueshi in Kenya. It also plans to build a 8MW captive power plant at Merrueshi.

New Zealand: Golden Bay Cement plans to start shipping cement directly from its integrated plant at Whangarei, Northland in the North Island. Previously, cement from the plant was being shipped to the South Island via Auckland, according to the New Zealand Herald newspaper. Once the logistic change is completed around 11% of Whangarei’s output will be shipped to the South Island.

Morocco: Ciments de l’Atlas’ (CIMAT) income rose by 1.27% year-on-year to Euro51.1m in 2017, according to Le Boursier. Its sales rose by 5.7% to Euro239m. The cement producer operates two cement plants at Ben Ahmed in Settat and Beni Mellal in Tadia Azilal.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Tvornica Cementa Kakanj’s (TCK) sales revenue grew by 13.3% year-on-year to Euro48.5m in 2017 from Euro42.8m in 2016. Its sales volumes of cement rose by 12.3% to 0.49Mt from 0.43Mt. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 12.5% to Euro8.89m from Euro8.09m. It attributed the growth to continued growing market at home in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

General director Branimir Muidža said that the subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement started adding new cement silos to its plant in 2017 with completion scheduled for 2018. It has also started preparing its plants to use refuse-derived fuel (RDF).

Total consumption of cement in Bosnia & Herzegovina was estimated to be 1.2Mt in 2017, a rise of 6% from 2016. The boost was pinned on construction of a new road project.

Turkey: YD Madencilik, part of Üstyapi Insaat Group, has ordered a 5000t/day clinker production line from Germany’s KHD Humboldt Wedag. The plant will be built at Yiglica, Düzce in the Marmara region. KHD will be responsible for engineering and equipment supply, as well as the supervision of erection and commissioning. It will also provide its Simulex plant simulation software to mirror the operation of the new plant.

The new production line will consist of the following KHD core components: a six-stage preheater with Pyroclon LowNO_x AF calciner, equipped with a Pyrotop compact mixing chamber, tertiary air duct and the Pyrobox calciner firing system; a three tyre rotary kiln, with a diameter of 4.8m; a Pyro-Jet kiln burner; and a Pyrofloor clinker cooler equipped with a Pyrocrusher system.

After commissioning, KHD says that YD Madencilik’s plant will operate its most efficient six-stage preheater in Turkey. It added that close to 70% of Turkish cement production units have been designed and installed by KHD. Commissioning of the plant is scheduled for the third quarter of 2019.

Russia: BASF Construction Systems plans to spend at least Euro6m towards building a new cement additive and concrete admixture plant. The plant will be the company’s fifth in the country, according to Interfax. The subsidiary of Germany’s BASF is currently looking for a site for the unit with a decision planned for 2018. It will then build the plant by 2021.

China: The merger between China National Building Material (CNBM) and China National Materials (Sinoma) is looking likely to be completed in early May 2018. The companies have issued a scheduled timeline for key events of the withdrawal of Sinoma shares and the implementation of a share exchange. This process is expected to be completed on or around 3 May 2018 with CNBM updating its business registration at the Beijing Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce as soon as possible thereafter. The merger marks the conglomeration of the leading Chinese cement producer and equipment manufacturer.

Vietnam: Phuc Son Cement is under investigation for exploiting minerals. An inspection report by the State Audit Office has accused the cement producer of using mineral volumes higher than the amount it was licenced for in 1996, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper and Dantri. The report has been passed to the prime minister and the chairwoman of the National Assembly. The company has also been accused of causing pollution from its mining activities and not cooperating with the authorities over the investigation.

The State Audit Office estimates that Phuc Son Cement could face a US$11.7m fine for illegally exploiting natural resources and causing environmental damage. Phuc Son Cement, a joint venture between Taiwan’s Lucky Cement and a local partner, operates one of the largest plants in the country.