
Displaying items by tag: clinker plant
Cimerwa’s US$190m clinker plant to reduce reliance on imports
01 October 2025Rwanda: Cement producer Cimerwa will invest about US$190m in a new clinker plant, aiming to reduce its dependence on imports and save an estimated US$2.88bn in foreign exchange over the next 25 years. CEO Mangesh Kumar Verma said the plant, which will be built in Musanze, is expected to begin operations within two years with a capacity of 0.72Mt/yr of clinker. The plant will meet the company’s local demand of 0.54Mt/yr, with the surplus exported. CIMERWA CEO, Mangesh Kumar Verma, said that if limestone reserves prove larger than expected, there is provision to add another line. The investment follows rising costs from importing clinker, which currently amount to around 0.36Mt/yr at a cost of US$3.7m–4.0m. Verma added that clinker makes up about 70% of cement production costs, rising to 95% when imported.
Cimerwa’s unaudited financial results for the nine months ending 30 June 2025 showed that revenues were up by 50% year-on-year to US$75m, driven largely by its July 2024 acquisition of Prime Cement. However, profit before tax dropped by 23% to US$7.7m, reportedly due to input cost increases and continued depreciation of the Rwandan Franc. The company said that the Musanze clinker plant will stabilise production costs and position Rwanda as a net exporter, supporting large-scale infrastructure projects such as the New International Airport in Bugesera.
India: Dalmia Bharat, through its subsidiaries, has announced a strategic investment of approximately US$397m in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The company will set up a 3.6Mt/yr clinker unit and a 3Mt/yr grinding unit at its existing Belgaum plant in Karnataka, alongside a new greenfield split grinding unit of 3Mt/yr in Pune, Maharashtra. The projects, funded through a mix of debt and internal accruals, are expected to be commissioned by the fourth quarter of the 2027 financial year. Following completion, and factoring in ongoing 2.9Mt/yr expansions in Assam and Bihar, Dalmia Bharat’s installed capacity will rise to 55.5Mt/yr.
The Belgaum expansion will strengthen supply in southern Maharashtra and deepen the company’s reach in Karnataka, while the Pune plant will focus on the untapped western Maharashtra markets.
Puneet Dalmia, managing director and CEO of Dalmia Bharat, said “This investment is a significant step in our Phase II expansion strategy, bringing us closer to strengthening our position as a pan-India player and to reach our intermittent goal of 75Mt/yr capacity by the 2028 financial year. The increase in our production capacity is primarily to meet the growing infrastructure demand in Western India.”
Kenya: Ndovu Cement, owned by Karsan Ramji & Sons, will build a 600t/day greenfield clinker plant and a limestone quarry in Mukawa, Kajiado County, according to regulatory filings. The project has already secured approval from the National Environment Management Authority. The company said the limestone quarry will ensure a reliable supply of 900t/day of limestone.
The facility is expected to reduce reliance on imports following a 17.5% levy on clinker imports introduced in July 2023, according to the Business Daily Africa newspaper. The measure was aimed at boosting local production and creating jobs, but has since led to a drop in cement consumption due to price increases and a fall in imports. Kenya-based cement producers had reportedly opposed an attempt to increase import duty on clinker, instead requesting a grace period of four years, until 2026, to allow them to build their own clinker production facilities.
Karsan began as a quarry operator in Kitengela, Kilifi and Nakuru, before beginning cement production in 2015 and launching Ndovu Cement in June 2015.
Rwanda: The government signed a 15-year industrial quarry licence agreement with cement producer Cimerwa on 17 July 2025, paving the way for a US$190m investment in a clinker plant in Musanze District, according to The New Times newspaper. The agreement aims to reduce cement imports, create jobs and support Rwanda’s infrastructure development through sustainable quarrying practices, according to a statement by the Rwanda Development Board.
Cement imports rose by 42% year-on-year to US$94m in 2024 from US$64m previously, according to data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. On 16 July 2025, the Cabinet approved new mineral, quarry and exploration licences to boost mining in the country.
Tororo Cement to build clinker plant in Moroto
06 May 2025Uganda: Lands, Housing and Urban Development minister Judith Nabakooba said that the government and the Naita-A-Tepeth Communal Land Association have finalised a lease agreement to enable Tororo Cement to build Uganda’s first clinker plant in Katikekile, Moroto District. Nabakooba said that the project began in 2023, and will reduce clinker imports and conserve foreign exchange.
According to a social media post by the ministry, the agreement includes the sale of 202 hectares to Tororo Cement for the plant site, the lease of 3824 acres to the Uganda Investment Authority and the titling of institutional land for local public use.
Gabon: The Gabonese government and Ciments d'Afrique (Cimaf Gabon) have signed an investment agreement for the construction of a third cement production line. The US$41.1m project will increase Cimaf Gabon's cement production capacity by 1Mt/yr to 1.85Mt/yr.
Cimaf Gabon also holds a permit to exploit a major limestone deposit around Ntoum and will build a clinker production unit in the area, requiring more than US$148m in investment.
Cimaf Gabon’s general director Janah Idrissi El Mehdi said “This plant, located a stone's throw from Ntoum in the Estuaire province, will bring significant benefits to the entire region, particularly in terms of job creation (1400 in the project phase and 500 in the operational phase). It will contribute to improving the living conditions of the surrounding populations.”
Kyrgyzstan: A partly state-owned consortium of companies including Terek Tash and Zenit has commissioned a new 1.5Mt/yr clinker plant in Kemin, Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast. Central Asia News has reported that the plant is intended to supply clinker for use in cement production at an upcoming grinding plant at Novo-Pokrovka in Chui. The projects have a combined value of US$150m.
Uganda: Richard Todwong, leader of the National Resistance Movement party, launched his Karamoja mobilisation tour at the clinker cement plant in Moroto District on 24 June 2024. The plant is owned by West International Holding, a subsidiary of China West Cement, and is currently under construction. Once operational in 2025, it will produce about 6000t/day of clinker and cement, according to New Vision. The project is valued at US$300m, spanning 81 hectares and employing over 1000 people in the Karamoja sub-region. Uganda imports over 50% of its clinker supply and this project will reportedly support the government’s import substitution initiative by allowing for local manufacture of clinker.
Spain: Cemex has announced the definitive closure of its clinker production kilns at the Lloseta plant, aligning its operations with the global 'Future in Action' programme that targets carbon neutrality by 2050.
The company has confirmed its plans to the government and the Lloseta City Council to dismantle the two cyclone towers at the Lloseta plant by 31 December 2030. While clinker production will cease, the site will continue to engage in grinding, storage, marketing and dispatch of bulk and bagged cement; maintain its regional offices, aggregate treatment plant, ground transport base and operate the Can Negret quarry in Alaró.
The plant’s closure has led to the dismissal of six of the seven employees who worked at the kilns. Cemex has offered these workers positions at other company production centres.
Kenya: Cemtech, a subsidiary of Devki Group, has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment report to the National Environment Management Authority for a new clinker plant in Kitui County. The company aims to receive approval from the Kenyan government to establish the plant, according to the Business Daily newspaper. The company says that the plant will boost local cement production and increase employment opportunities.