Displaying items by tag: Middle East and Africa

Syria: The General Company for Cement and Building Materials (Al-Omran) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with UAE-based consultancy A³&Co. to develop a third production line at the Hama cement plant. The deal also covers technical workforce training and designates A³&Co. as strategic advisor to align the sector with global sustainability standards.

General manager of Al-Omran Mahmoud Fadila and A³&Co. CEO Amr Nader signed the agreement in Damascus. It includes reducing the industry’s environmental footprint, studying energy use to raise efficiency, and establishing workshops, evaluation systems and internationally accredited testing centres.

Congo: The Ministry of Industrial Development and Private Sector Promotion is conducting a special forum on the cement industry in the Republic of Congo in Brazzaville on 18 – 19 August 2025, with the aim being to make the sector more competitive in the global market. Minister Antoine Thomas Nicéphore Fylla Saint Eudes will lead proceedings.

Saint Eudes said “Congo is preparing for its entry into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), scheduled in a few years. Thanks to its significant reserves of limestone and clay, our ambition is to make it a cement hub for the sub-region.”

Egypt: Sinai Cement recorded consolidated net profit attributable to the holding company of US$15.9m in the first half of 2025, up by 18% from US$13.5m in the same period of 2024. Sales rose to US$83.2m from US$55.5m in 2024. Standalone net profit after tax grew to US$15.9m, from US$13.6m in the first half of 2024.

Saudi Arabia: Qassim Cement has signed a US$298m contract with Sinoma International Engineering to build a fourth production line at its Buraydah plant. The new line will have a production capacity of 10,000t/day.

CEO and board member of Qassim Cement Omar Al-Omar said that the project will replace ‘outdated’, low-efficiency production equipment while optimising the plant’s existing infrastructure. Al-Omar added that the project will support the company’s sustainable growth strategy, aimed at meeting domestic demand and diversifying products in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

Afghanistan: The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum announced the start of work on five cement plants in Kandahar, Herat, Parwan, Jawzjan and Logar with a total investment of US$750m, according to Ariana News. Some of these facilities are expected to start production later in 2025 or early 2026. Once operational, these plants will enable the country to produce 15,000t/day of cement, raising national output to 5.5Mt/yr and potentially allowing for export to nearby countries. The news outlet reported that currently 90% of the cement available domestically is imported.

Saudi Arabia: Cement sales by the country’s 17 producers rose by 21% year-on-year to 13.1Mt in the second quarter of 2025, according to Al Yamama Cement. Local demand grew by 23% and accounted for 97% of total despatches, while exports fell by 16% to account for 3% of sales.

Al Yamama Cement led the market with 1.93Mt of local sales, followed by Saudi Cement with 1.36Mt, Qassim Cement with 1.14Mt and Yanbu Cement with 1.00Mt. Saudi Cement topped exports with 376,000t sold, ahead of Najran Cement with 50,000t and Eastern Province Cement at 5000t. Cement expert and CEO at consultancy firm A³&Co Amr Nader said “East Africa and Yemen have seen rising local production, such as capacity expansions in Kenya and the reactivation of plants in Ethiopia, alongside aggressive pricing from Turkiye and Iran.”

Clinker production grew by 13% year-on-year to 14.8Mt, with Saudi Cement producing 2.15Mt. Clinker inventories rose by 3% from 2024 to 134Mt by the end of June 2025, led by Southern Province Cement with 20.2Mt. Clinker exports increased by 39% year-on-year to 1.63Mt. Key markets included Bangladesh, Kenya, Benin, Ghana and Yemen.

Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement recorded net profits of US$11.2m in the first half of 2025, down by 59% year-on-year from US$27.7m. Revenues fell by 11% to US$111m from US$124m in the first half of 2024. In the second quarter of 2025, profits dropped by 50% year-on-year to US$4m, while revenues declined by 9% to US$52m. Quarter-on-quarter, profits fell by 44% from US$7.2m and revenues by 11% from US$59m.

Ivory Coast: Gebr. Pfeiffer will supply an MVR 3070 R-2 vertical roller mill to Ciments de Côte d'Ivoire (CIMCI) for clay grinding at its cement plant. The mill will produce 62t/hr of clay at ≤10% R 0.090mm for use in calcined clay cement. The order was placed by China-based contractor CBMI, which is managing the engineering, procurement and construction contract and will also supply the suspension calcination plant. The mill is scheduled to begin operation at the end of 2026.

Saudi Arabia: City Cement says that the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has declined to approve its proposed acquisition of Umm Al Qura Cement. The decision was reportedly due to a lack of certain regulatory requirements. In a market statement City Cement said that it was committed to full regulatory compliance and would consider its options regarding resubmitting the offer.

City Cement announced in late 2022 that it was preparing to buy Umm Al Qura Cement. It then started taking action towards the transaction in late 2024 onwards.

Kenya: Kalahari Cement will spend US$5.57m to acquire a 29% stake in East African Portland Cement (EAPC) from Associated International Cement and Cementia Holding, making it one of the largest shareholders. Kalahari will purchase a combined total of 26.3 million shares from the two parties. The deal, priced at US$0.21/share, is subject to several regulatory approvals.

Kalahari is a Kenyan-incorporated investment vehicle, backed by Pacific Cement (90%) and Comercio Et Consiel (10%). It currently has no direct stake in EAPC but is affiliated with Bamburi Cement, which owns 12.5%. EAPC operates an integrated cement plant near Nairobi.