Zimbabwe: The government has relaxed regulations so that more cement can be imported into Zimbabwe. This aims to address cement shortages experienced recently due to a national construction boom, according to the Herald Zimbabwe newspaper. Minister of Skills Audit and Development, Professor Paul Mavima, said that cement prices will also decline as a result.

Historically, construction activity peaks between April and November, just ahead of the country’s rainy season, but demand in 2025, driven by both home building and commercial construction, has been described as ‘incomparable’ to previous cycles by dealers.
Zimbabwe’s cement industry has an installed production capacity of about 2.6Mt/yr, although output has been inconsistent due to ageing equipment and fuel shortages. While the country primarily imports cement from neighbouring Zambia, imports have dropped sharply, squeezing external supply just as domestic need accelerated.

India: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) India said that the cement industry has installed 1.8GW of renewable energy capacity and aims to add 5GW more by 2030, according to Platts. Around 3% of electricity used comes from renewables and 11% from waste heat recovery. GCCA India said that the average alternative fuel thermal substitution rate (TSR) in the sector is approximately 6%, although some plants have successfully achieved TSRs of more than 20%. It also said that there are developments in the installations of hybrid energy systems, which provide 24/7 electricity for the sector.

Blended cement accounts for 73% of production, and India has reportedly begun producing limestone calcined clay cement. Research is also underway into other low-clinker alternatives. According to a March 2025 report by GCCA India and The Energy and Resources Institute, the industry aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. CRISIL forecasts that the sector will add 160-170Mt/yr of grinding capacity between the financial years 2026-2028, which run from April to March, driven by a healthy demand outlook and high capacity utilisation.

Peru: National cement shipments reached 1.23Mt in October 2025, up by 9% compared to October 2024 and up by 5% over the past 12 months, according to ASOCEM. Cement production rose by 6% year-on-year to 1.08Mt, while clinker output increased by 36% compared to October 2024, to 0.87Mt.

Cement exports fell by 7% year-on-year to 10,837t, while clinker exports rose by 202% to 108,345t for October 2025, a rolling 12-month rise of 16%. Cement imports grew by 393% year-on-year to 157,233t and grew by  133% over the past 12 months. Clinker imports also increased by 200% year-on-year to 130,055t, and by 72% over the last 12 months.

Türkiye: Nuh Çimento has installed a new electric LPS 420 portal slewing crane from Liebherr at its private port in Hereke to boost efficiency and reduce emissions. The crane has a 124t lifting capacity and can handle up to 1500t/hr. The company said that the crane is designed for high-throughput handling of abrasive materials such as clinker and cement.

Nuh Çimento’s port handles 5Mt/yr of dry bulk cargo and serves over 40 export markets. The 595m berth supports vessels up to 80,000dwt and features a 300m underground conveyor tunnel and automated loading systems.

Oman: Raysut Cement welcomed a delegation from Sinoma Overseas to its Salalah cement plant to strengthen cooperation in industrial development and sustainability initiatives, according to the company. Discussions centred on enhancing energy efficiency and advancing the companies’ ongoing waste heat recovery (WHR) project, which they say will reduce emissions and supply a substantial share of the plant’s power needs.

The project was announced in April 2025 and will be Oman’s first waste heat recovery plant, with a capacity of 9MW, according to local press. Once operational, the facility is expected to reduce the plant’s reliance on the national grid by 30% and avoid 50,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

Sweden: Heidelberg Materials Sweden has said that it will ‘pause’ its carbon capture project at the Slite cement plant in Gotland after the Swedish Energy Agency rejected its application for co-financing under the Industrial Step programme. The producer said that the government is currently ‘not prepared’ to strategically prioritise funds for the project. The project aimed to reduce Sweden’s total CO₂ emissions by 1.8Mt/yr, or around 4% of the country’s total emissions. Heidelberg Materials said that, as production in Slite is not being given a way to adjust with secured long-term competitiveness, Sweden now risks becoming dependent on cement imports in the future and could face weakened security of supply.

Vice president Karin Comstedt Webb said “We have worked for a long time to implement one of the most powerful climate investments in Swedish industrial history with the aim of securing long-term competitiveness. But without the state's continued support for implementation, there are currently insufficient conditions to realise the project in Sweden.”

Thailand: SCG Cleanergy and US-based Rondo Energy have launched a new 33MWh thermal battery integrated with SCG’s cement plant’s heat recovery system in Saraburi province. The system delivers 2.3MWth of continuous steam to the plant’s turbine, increasing output and enabling 24/7 electricity and process-heat supply. It also stores electrical energy as high-temperature heat in refractory materials and can reach 1500°C. CEO Eric Trusiewicz said the system was built in eight months. Rondo said that the installation is the world’s first commercial heat battery at a cement plant, and that it plans to scale further.

Egypt: Cement exports recorded their first decline in five years in the first nine months of 2025, falling by 5% year-on-year, according to Business News Africa. Exports were 14.5Mt, down from 15.3Mt in the same period in 2024. The decline follows the suspension of regulations that had allowed producers to reduce their capacity by 10% annually and instructed companies to prioritise local sales. The decision was halted for two months in May 2025, roughly five months before the dip in exports. Exports were only permitted for surplus quantities.

The policy had initially been introduced by the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) in 2021, after producers complained of heavy losses due to low demand and depressed prices. Production rose to 47.8Mt from January to September 2025, up by nearly 20% year-on-year, with local sales rising to 39.2Mt and clinker output rose to 45Mt from 42Mt.

Head of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce’s Cement Division Ahmed El-Zaini said “Egypt’s exports were only 3-4Mt/yr five years ago but surged to 20Mt/yr in 2024, largely at the expense of domestic supply.”

Bolivia: Cement sales reached 336,777t in September 2025, down by 5% year-on-year from 353,970t in September 2024, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Sales rose by 5% month-on-month from 320,998t in August 2025.

Global: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has launched its ‘Cement and Concrete Industry Net Zero Action and Progress Report 2025/6’, which reports a fall by 25% in CO₂ intensity of cementitious products since 1990 and sets out policy measures needed to accelerate decarbonisation. The report was launched at COP30 in Belem, Brazil.

The report highlights more than 60 decarbonisation projects across alternative fuels, alternative raw materials, carbon capture, renewable energy and recycled concrete. Examples include Fletcher’s Golden Bay plant and JSW’s Nandyal and Shiva plants. Publicly announced projects are collated and made available to see on the GCCA/LeadIT green cement technology tracker. The document also calls for policies enabling non-recyclable waste use in kilns, wider adoption of blended products, national carbon pricing mechanisms and the use of construction demolition waste as recycled raw materials.

GCCA president and Heidelberg Materials chair Dominik von Achten said “Our industry is collaborating and innovating across every aspect of our production - finding new ways to work and deploying exciting technologies that are already making a genuine step change. However, to achieve the industrial scale transformation that our world needs, we cannot do it by ourselves - our industry needs the support of governments, policymakers, stakeholders, and our allies across the built environment right now.”

GCCA chief executive Thomas Guillot said “The breadth of activity we are seeing across our membership is truly inspiring, with great examples of projects and work across all decarbonisation levers, where enabling policies exist. Cement and concrete are essential materials for the world, but we know they are also essential to decarbonise. Despite our progress, we know that firm policy action across the world is fundamental to enabling us to accelerate our reductions.”