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The Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) has warned that cuts to the Nusantara Capital City project had reduced cement sales so far in 2025. Yet also this week the ASEAN Federation of Cement Manufacturers (AFCM) launched its 2035 AFCM Decarbonisation Roadmap. Here is a round-up of recent news from the cement sector in Indonesia.

ASI data shows that local cement sales volumes fell by 2.5% year-on-year to 51.9Mt in the first 10 months of 2025 from 53.2Mt in the same period in 2024. Cement production decreased by 5.6% to 52.9Mt. Lower demand was reported in Kalimantan and Java. However, it rose in Sumatra and Nusa, in part, due to road construction. Sadly, Sumatra has been badly affected by floods this week. National cement exports grew by over 20% to 1.1Mt. The ASI is currently hopeful that a government-backed home renovation programme might stimulate demand.

Graph 1: Domestic cement sales and exports in Indonesia, 2019 - 2025. Source: Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). Note: Figure estimated for 2025, exports include cement and clinker.

The general picture can be seen above in Graph 1. The local cement sector has generally had a capacity utilisation issue since the mid-2010s. Domestic sales started to catch up but the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the market. Meanwhile, exports of cement and clinker have been steadily rising since 2014. These are dominated by clinker exports, with the single largest destination being Bangladesh. Other major targets include Taiwan and Australia. The country’s relatively low consumption of cement per capita suggests that the utilisation rate will grow over time.

The local production market is dominated by state-owned Semen Indonesia (SIG) (with a 48.5% share), followed by Indocement (29.1%), Conch Cement Indonesia (7.1%) and Cemindo Gemilang (6.6%). SIG’s sales volumes in the first nine months of 2025 roughly follow the general trend reported by the ASI with local sales down by 1.8% year-on-year to 27.5Mt and exports up by 25.3% to 5.1Mt. The group’s sales revenue and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 3.8% to US$1.52bn and 23.8% to US$198m respectively. Indocement’s revenue fell by a similar rate. Both companies anticipate a modest recovery in 2026.

Something to note from SIG’s financial results and related discussions in 2025 (and earlier) has been its approach to marketing and selling its cement brands in a highly competitive environment. It says it changes its brand mix in different regional locations with varying combinations of market leaders with premium pricing and so-called ‘fighting brands’ with competitive pricing. Yet, eco-brands received a mention in addition to the other two groups in the third quarter report analysts’ discussions suggesting an appetite for potentially lower-clinker cements in a developing market such as Indonesia.

This leads to the second Indonesia-related news story of the week: the 2035 AFCM Decarbonisation Roadmap. The plan intends to reduce net CO₂ emissions from the cement sector in the region by 16% to 190Mt/yr from 228Mt/yr in 2020. 58% of this reduction will be achieved through the use of alternative fuels, 33% via the use of low-carbon cements and 9% through the use of renewable energy sources. Work towards carbon capture, utilisation and/or storage (CCUS) is starting with the aim of supporting capture pilots in the region and planning towards CO₂ transport and storage networks. Similarly, the roadmap urges producers to identify and prepare to use new secondary cementitious materials such as calcined clay and construction and demolition waste.

The race between capacity building and market share has been a familiar one in coverage of the cement market in Indonesia in recent decades. Provided the main companies can endure the competition, it looks set to continue, while demographic trends indicate the need for continued investment. Otherwise more market consolidation is to be expected when the utilisation rate dips too low. What is new though are the higher levels of blended cements and the changes this brings to the market. This can be seen above in the marketing strategy of SIG and the regional decarbonisation strategy. Similar trends are happening everywhere but the effects on a highly competitive market could be pronounced. Particularly if those government-backed schemes that the sector anticipates promote it.

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Saudi Arabia: Al-Jouf Cement has appointed Eisa bin Yeslam Ba-Eisa as its chair. He succeeds Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Faleh in the position.

Yeslam Ba-Eisa holds over 25 years of professional experience in the telecommunications, industrial, and corporate governance sectors. He is currently working as the chair of GO Telecom. He has also worked as the CEO of several companies in the cement and energy sectors. He is a member of the National Committee for Cement and the Arab Union for Cement and Building Materials.

He holds a PhD in business administration from Atlanta University, Georgia, and master's and bachelor's degrees in business administration and mining engineering from King Abdulaziz University. He is also professionally accredited as a Certified Management Consultant by the Ministry of Commerce and as an Engineering Consultant by the Saudi Council of Engineers.

Finland: Tana Oy has appointed Antti Mikkonen as its Vice President, R&D.

Mikkonen previously worked as the Head of Product at Gofore Oyj. Before that, he held roles at Ponsse Oyj from 2011 to 2023, including five years as Director of Control Systems. He is a graduate in computer software engineering from Kajaani University of Applied Sciences.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Lucky Cement will expand cement production in the country through its joint venture with the Rawji Group, Nyumba Ya Akiba (NYA). The company announced that NYA will increase its capacity from 1.31Mt/yr to 2.91Mt/yr by adding a fully integrated 1.6Mt/yr line.

Following the project, Lucky Cement’s total capacity will increase to 23.2Mt/yr, including 15.3Mt/yr from Pakistan, 1.74Mt/yr from Basra, Iraq, 3.20Mt/yr from Samawah, Iraq, and 2.91Mt/yr from the DRC.

Europe: Holcim has completed the acquisitions of Thames Materials in London and of a majority stake in A&S Recycling in Hanover, and agreed to acquire a third demolition materials recycler in France. The three firms have a combined processing capacity of around 1.3Mt/yr. The acquisitions will support Holcim’s NextGen Growth 2030 target of recycling over 20Mt/yr of construction demolition materials and scale up its ECOCycle circular construction technology.

With Thames Materials, Holcim can now provide circular services across Greater London. The three A&S Recycling sites in Hanover raise Holcim’s German recycling hubs to 10, and the upcoming acquisition in Northwest France will increase Holcim’s French recycling centres to 28.

Colombia: The cement industry recorded a 6% year-on-year rise in national production to 1.25Mt in October 2025, driven by recovering construction activity and commercial demand. Domestic shipments grew by 10% to 1.18Mt. Shipments in the Bogotá area rose by 11%, while Nariño and Norte de Santander reported growth of 39% and 26%, respectively. Demand fell in Valle del Cauca and Sucre, by 2% and 0.6% respectively.

Algeria: Biskria Cement loaded 28,000t of white cement at the Port of Annaba for export to the US, according to local press. The shipment forms part of the company’s strategy to expand its international footprint, with a target of exporting 0.2Mt/yr of cement.

Kyrgyzstan: Cement production reached 3.6Mt between January and October 2025, up by 32% year-on-year or 0.89Mt, according to the National Statistical Committee. The entire increase was driven by higher output in the Chui region, which produced over half of the country’s total. Cement output in the Chui region doubled from 0.9Mt to 1.8Mt, accounting for all national growth over the period.

Austria: Alpacem Cement Austria will invest in new infrastructure at its Wietersdorf site in Carinthia to process and utilise low-CO₂ alternative raw materials in cement production. The project aims to cut process-related CO₂ emissions by 51,000t/yr. The company will construct a new plant, expand conveying and storage facilities and modernise dosing systems to raise the share of alternative raw materials to 35%. The project is supported by a €21.6m grant under Austria’s ‘Transformation of Industry’ programme.

India: Sagar Cement has ordered a MVR 5000 C-4 vertical roller mill for cement grinding at its Dachepalle plant in Andhra Pradesh. The new unit has a drive power of 3870kW, and will produce 210t/hr of ordinary Portland cement. The investment follows the installation of a mill of the same size at the site in 2018. The project is being executed in collaboration with Gebr. Pfeiffer (India) and Gebr. Pfeiffer (Germany), with Pfeiffer’s Noida-based engineering team providing full design and support.