Iraq: Kurdistan Region prime minister Masrour Barzani will inaugurate the Dabin cement plant and power station in Erbil Governorate today, 12 May 2025, according to Kurdistan24 news. The foundation stone was laid nearly two years ago, on 22 June 2023.

The project spans 212,000m² and was built by China Power Investment Corporation. It includes a 6300t/day capacity cement plant and a 52MW power station, intended to both support the energy needs of the plant and feed into the broader grid to alleviate strain on regional electricity supplies. A limestone quarry 1km away from the plant supplies the limestone for production, where geological surveys have reportedly confirmed reserves of 150Mt, sufficient to sustain operations for at least 50 years.

Raw material is transported to the plant using a 1400t/hr capacity industrial crusher. The processed material is stored in four 10,000t silos, each 18m in diameter and 56m tall.  

Iraq: IVI Holding has signed a US$240m engineering, procurement and construction contract with Sinoma Overseas to build a new 6000t/day cement plant in Al-Muthanna Province.

The agreement was signed in Dubai on 9 May 2025 by IVI Holding chair Hussein Shamara and Sinoma Overseas chair Linhe Zhu.

The project forms part of the Iraqi government’s US$1.17bn industrial programme for Muthanna announced in April 2025.

Bolivia: Empresa Pública de Cementos Bolivia (ECEBOL) will begin exporting 12,500t/month of clinker to Mexico from June or July 2025, following the finalisation of a supply contract in late May 2025, according to Ahora El Pueblo newspaper.

Technical manager Aldo Olivera said that the deal will be Ecebol’s first clinker export contract, and that negotiations have been underway for several months. Oliviera said that the company hoped to achieve between US$7m - 8m over the course of the contract.

Yemen: China-based Yuantai Crane Machinery has delivered and installed a 5t LH series overhead crane with electric hoist trolley to a cement mixing facility in Sana’a, replacing manual chain hoists and forklifts, according to Hoist Magazine.

The plant required a compact crane capable of handling 1t-5t cement bags, mixer covers and maintenance parts. The new crane is capable of lifting up to 5t at 8m/min with 20m/min trolley travel, and operates between 20°C and 40°C. It also meets ISO A4 duty standards. The crane was installed in two days, reducing lift cycle times from 120s to 65s and increasing the plant’s daily handling capacity by 30%.

Kyrgyzstan: The Cabinet of Ministers has lifted the temporary ban on cement imports to meet growing construction demand and ‘ensure uninterrupted site operations’, according to Central Asia News.

The Cabinet said “Cancellation of a temporary ban on import of cement will support market competition, prevent shortage and stabilise prices for construction materials.”

The ban was originally put in place for six months in early April 2025.

Greece: Titan Cement reported a ‘positive start to the year’, having recorded sales of €638m in the first quarter of 2025, up by 2% year-on-year. Aggregates sales rose by 18% and ready-mix concrete saw an increase of 6%, while cement volumes remained flat year-on-year. The company said that the impact of severe weather conditions in both the US and Southeast Europe weighed on sales volumes in these regions, however, the strong performance in Greece, as well as the significant rise in cement exports from Egypt, mitigated those effects.

It reported an earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €123m, an increase of 12% year-on-year. Profit before tax increased by 3% to €66.6m. Titan is ‘cautiously optimistic’ for the remainder of the year, despite global uncertainties.

India: Wonder Cement’s managing director Kiran Patil led the inauguration of Line 5 at the Nimbahera plant in Rajasthan on 7 May 2025, according to a social media post by the producer. The project increased the producer’s clinker capacity by 2.8Mt/yr to 13.35Mt/yr and cement capacity by 2.5Mt/yr to 21.5Mt/yr. The company partnered with APBCO on the expansion, which also includes a 12MW waste heat recovery system to increase energy efficiency.

Spain: A local cement manufacturer will integrate ‘green’ hydrogen into its production process using a 2MW Neptune II electrolyser from Uk-based supplier ITM Power, according to H2 View news. The electrolyser will supply hydrogen to be co-fired with natural gas in the cement kiln, expected to reduce CO₂ emissions. The method was previously demonstrated in 2021, when Hanson UK (now Heidelberg Materials) and MPA trialled hydrogen co-firing in cement production. It will be the first time that ITM has deployed the system in the cement industry.

Uganda: Hima Cement has said that over 50% of its fuel for cement production now comes from renewable biomass instead of heavy fuel oil (HFO). Head of regulatory affairs David Mugagga said that the biomass used to fuel the kilns at Hima Cement’s plants is sourced from coffee husks, palm kernels, rice husks and sawdust. Mugagga also said that the company collects hazardous waste to use as fuel, reducing the amount that goes to landfill.

Argentina: Cement despatches rose by 28% year-on-year to 844,000t in April 2025, compared to 661,319t in April 2024, according to data from the Asociación de Fabricantes de Cemento Portland (AFCP). Total despatches for the first four months of 2025 reached 3.18Mt, up by 15% year-on-year from 2.76Mt in the previous corresponding period.

Domestic consumption, including imports, rose by 28% year-on-year to 837,000t in April 2025, from 655,000t in April 2024. Total consumption increased by 15% to 3.14Mt for the first four months of 2025.