Displaying items by tag: Asia

China: NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers has confirmed an order for a 38,000t methanol dual-fuel pneumatic cement carrier by Zhejiang Xinle Shipbuilding, for delivery in 2027.

The vessel will be chartered under a long-term contract by Holcim. Other features include an air lubricating system and a waste heat recovery system, which will recycle exhaust gases to generate electricity.

“By increasing the quantity intake and burning green methanol, the CO₂ emissions on these shipments will be reduced by more than 60% per year in comparison to current freight flows, ie 0.18Mt of CO₂ reduction over a period of 10 years,” NovaAlgoma said.

India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned a 3.35Mt/yr brownfield clinker line and one of two 2.7Mt/yr cement mills at its Maihar unit in Madhya Pradesh. The second grinding mill will be commissioned in the first quarter of the 2026 financial year. The producer also commissioned brownfield expansions at its Dhule grinding unit in Maharashtra (1.2Mt/yr) and Durgapur grinding unit in West Bengal (0.6Mt/yr), and launched its first bulk terminal in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, with a handling capacity of 1.8Mt/yr.

“Consequent to the above, the company’s total domestic grey cement manufacturing capacity stands at 183.36Mt/yr. Along with its overseas capacity of 5.4Mt/yr, the company’s global capacity stands at 188.76Mt/yr,” UltraTech Cement said.

Azerbaijan: Cement production rose by 6% year-on-year to 0.58Mt the first two months of 2025, up from 0.55Mt in the previous corresponding period. Cement clinker output increased by 11% to 0.61Mt from 0.55Mt in the same period of 2024, according to the State Statistical Committee.

The State Customs Committee reported exports of 0.14Mt of cement and clinker at a value of US$9.1m. This represents an increase of 32,000t (29%) by volume and US$2.7m (43%) by value compared to the same period in the previous year.

Australia: The Australian government’s ‘unwillingness’ to impose a carbon levy on imported cement, lime and clinker is threatening decarbonisation efforts and could cost up to 1400 jobs, according to the Financial Review.

The Cement Industry Federation, which represents local producers Adbri, Boral and Cement Australia, has said that the absence of a carbon levy on imports from countries with less robust climate commitments paved the way for the offshoring of local manufacturing, a process known as ‘carbon leakage’.

It said “Not addressing the issue of carbon leakage in a timely manner will be detrimental to Australian cement and lime manufacturing and could lead to the unnecessary loss of key Australian cement and lime facilities."

Imports currently account for over 40% of domestic clinker consumption and originate largely from southeast Asia. In 2023, an energy expert was appointed by the government to assess the feasibility of an Australian carbon border adjustment mechanism, with a final recommendation expected to be delivered in 2024. However, only an interim report was released in November 2024, with the final advice now reportedly due after the election in May 2025.

Nepal: Hetauda Cement Industry will restart production in the first week of April 2025 after completing machinery maintenance, securing raw materials and reaching agreement with employees, according to local news reports. The state-owned plant halted production on 1 October 2024. It has a capacity of 16,000 bags/day.

Acting general manager Nabin Kumar Karna said “It took some time to repair the machinery as it was old and damaged. The machines were installed when the industry was first established in 1977, and replacing them immediately was not possible due to financial constraints. Currently, we have about 100t of coal in stock, and more is expected to arrive starting tomorrow, so the raw material supply is not a major concern.”

Karna said that the electricity issues the company had previously faced had been resolved, and the Nepal Electricity Authority were ‘committed’ to providing a regular electricity supply.

Pakistan: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government will replace ore-based royalties on cement with a 6% royalty on the ex-factory price.

The proposed change will raise costs for producers and follows a similar royalty imposed by the Punjab government in August 2024. Analysts said that manufacturers would need to raise cement prices significantly to offset the impact of the increased royalty.

South Korea: Domestic cement sales fell by 25% year-on-year to 4.45Mt in the first two months of 2025, according to the Korea Cement Association. This is reportedly the lowest number recorded for domestic sales in January-February in the past five years. Sales during the same period in 2020–2022 exceeded 6Mt, and in 2023 reached 7.12Mt due to delayed post-Covid construction.

Producers have suspended eight of 35 production lines and may halt two more due to high inventories, which reached 3.4Mt at the end of February 2025, close to 90% of storage capacity.

A Korea Cement Association official said “Unless the construction economy recovers, the management crisis in the cement industry caused by the severe drop in demand will continue for the time being.”

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry has imposed a preliminary safeguard measure on cement imports, primarily targeting Vietnam, which supplied 94% of imported cement in 2024.

The measure follows a finding that rising imports between 2019 and 2024 harmed domestic producers. The tariff applies to 40kg bags and will be in place for 200 days while the Philippine Tariff Commission conducts a final investigation. Vietnamese cement exporters have been advised to ‘monitor developments.’

Fiji: Pacific Cement has suspended its cement production following a mill breakdown.

The Fijian Holdings subsidiary has sent the damaged mill part to Australia for repairs and expects the outage to last for around three months.

Kyrgyzstan: Production of cement grew by 48% in the first two months of 2025 to 0.29Mt, according to the National Statistical Committee. Production in January 2025 was 0.12Mt. This follows a rise in cement imports by over 300% year-on-year in January 2025.