Benin: France-based Chovet is reportedly preparing to support the construction of a 2Mt/yr integrated cement plant. Preparatory studies have been completed and construction is ready to start, according to 24 Heures au Bénin. The engineering company will be responsible for supervising all work, providing project management assistance and monitoring the quality of the installed infrastructure. The project was originally mandated at a meeting of the government’s Council of Ministers in late 2022.

Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA) has requested that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) lower an import tax on clinker to US$1.7/t. The lobbying is taking place ahead of the upcoming budget for the 2025 – 2026 financial year, according to the Financial Express newspaper. The association also expressed concern that a 10% duty was levied on limestone imports, but it expects this to be relaxed in the upcoming budget. The BCMA has urged the NBR to simplify customs regulations and impose a tariff system on value-added tax (VAT) calculations.

Vietnam: The Ministry of Construction has reported a cement surplus to the Prime Minister, blaming a supply-demand imbalance. The country has 92 cement production lines with a capacity of over 122Mt/yr, according to the Việt Nam News newspaper. However, cement and clinker consumption was 95Mt in 2024, with 65Mt used domestically and 30Mt exported.

Planning regulations governing cement plants were relaxed in 2017. Subsequently, local authorities approved 13 new units that added 35Mt/yr in capacity. The Ministry of Construction proposed a national building materials strategy capping total cement production at 125Mt/yr by 2025 and 150Mt/yr by 2030. The ministry has also urged provincial governments to limit new cement projects to prevent excessive supply. It has proposed tightening the planning laws on building new cement plants.

The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) has highlighted weak market demand and production constraints as major challenges to the sector. It has lobbied the government to promote housing, infrastructure and road projects to grow the cement market.

Cameroon: Cameroon will increase its cement production capacity by 4.3Mt to 12.7Mt/yr by the end of 2025 with the addition of three new plants in Édéa, according to Business in Cameroon. The new facilities will help meet local demand and support exports.

The first plant, Sino Africaine (Sinafcim) is under construction and will have a 1Mt/yr capacity. It is set to begin production in April 2025. It will employ 200 workers and 90% will be Cameroonian. The second, Central Africa Cement (CAC), has been operational for several months with a 1.5Mt/yr capacity. It currently employs 100 people and aims to reach 200. The third, Yousheng Cement, is being built near Douala and will have a 1.8Mt/yr capacity. National demand in Cameroon is reportedly around 8Mt.

India: The Competition Commission of India has approved Ambuja Cements’ acquisition of Orient Cement, months after the Adani Group company announced the US$451m deal, according to The Economic Times.

Ambuja Cements first revealed plans to acquire Orient Cement in October 2024, intensifying its competition with rival UltraTech Cement.

The Indian cement sector has seen increased competition recently, with both UltraTech and Adani Group companies acquiring smaller firms to expand market share. Analysts had questioned whether the acquisition would secure regulatory approval due to industry oversupply concerns.

India: UltraTech Cement has increased its production capacity by 1.2Mt/yr through debottlenecking efforts. The producer said that it had identified multiple efficiency enhancement opportunities across various locations as part of its capacity expansion programmes. The additional capacity includes 0.8Mt/yr at the integrated Hirmi plant in Chhattisgarh and 0.4Mt/yr at the Roorkee grinding unit in Uttarakhand. Ultratech’s domestic cement capacity now reportedly stands at 179Mt/yr.

Spain: Cement consumption rose by 9% year-in-year in February 2025 to 1.27Mt, around 100,000t more than in February 2024, according to the latest statistics from Oficemen. Consumption for the first two months of 2025 reached 2.40Mt, up by 9%. In the 12 months to February 2025, total consumption rose by 4% to 15.1Mt.

“Although it is still early to make assessments, it is significant to note that last month was the February with the highest cement consumption since 2011, which confirms a certain continuity in the positive trend we experienced at the end of 2024 and which we expected to continue in 2025. Furthermore, our data is in line with other relevant indicators in the construction sector, whose performance is also positive, such as public tenders, which grew by 33.5% in January, and permits for new housing, which ultimately closed 2024 with 127,721 approved units,” said Oficemen general director Aniceto Zaragoza.

Exports fell by 15% to 0.3Mt in February 2025, a loss of 55,600t. In the 12 months to February 2025, exports fell by 5% to 4.80Mt.

Nigeria: Dangote Group has resumed construction of a 6Mt/yr cement plant in Itori, Ogun State, according to Business Insider Africa. Itori is 10km from Ewekoro, the site of a 3.9Mt/yr plant owned by Lafarge Africa. Construction of the plant is expected to be completed by November 2026. The company will also build ‘Nigeria’s largest seaport’ at the Olokola Free Trade Zone, also in Ogun State. The plant will have two lines and sits on 533 hectares of land.

Ogun State is already home to the 12Mt/yr Dangote Cement Plant in Ibese. Upon completion of the Itori project, the state’s total cement production capacity will reach 18Mt/yr. Dangote Cement reportedly has a production capacity of 52Mt/yr across Africa, with 70% of production in Nigeria.

Aliko Dangote said “We earlier on abandoned our vision of investing in the Olokola Free Trade Zone but, because of governor Dapo Abiodun’s policies and investor-friendly environment, we are back and will work with the government to return to Olokola. Plans are underway to construct the largest port in the country.”

He said that the nearly US$800m Itori cement plant should have been completed earlier, but was delayed due to opposition from former governor Ibikunle Amosun.

Japan: Mitsubishi UBE Cement Corporation has started a commercial-scale demonstration test using ammonia as a heat energy source in a cement kiln and calciner at Ube cement plant.

The project, supported by Yamaguchi Prefecture’s 2023 Carbon Neutral Complex Development Promotion Subsidy, follows an ammonia co-combustion test in 2023. In collaboration with UBE Corporation, a test facility for ammonia co-firing was installed.

The company has set a target of replacing 30% of its coal consumption with ammonia in the cement kiln, with similar levels targeted for the calciner by the end of the 2025 financial year. Mitsubishi UBE Cement is also planning further ammonia combustion tests with post-consumer plastics and other materials as energy sources.

Egypt: Arabian Cement Company has signed a 30-year power purchase agreement with IRSC for renewable electricity. The deal covers the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of the second phase of the firm’s solar power plant. The plant will have a total capacity of 17.6MW and is expected to produce 32.5GW/yr of electricity.