India: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has named Adani Group subsidiary Ambuja Cements the winner in the Women Empowerment category of its Corporate Social Responsibility Awards 2020 – 2021. During the period under consideration, the producer’s initiatives supported 2970 self-help groups and trained 31,000 women. It employed 9000 women in its operations.

Ambuja Cements says that it aims to help women in their role as breadwinners, changemakers and leaders in their communities.

India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) has concluded a contract for the acquisition of cement and other assets from Jaypee Group for US$684m. Mint News has reported that the deal will bring Dalmia Cement (Bharat) into control of an additional 9.4Mt/yr of cement production capacity, including 6.7Mt/yr of clinker production capacity, as well as 280MW-worth of fossil fuel-fired power capacity. All cement and grinding plants included under the deal belonged to Jaypee Group subsidiaries Jaiprakash Associates and Jaiprakash Power Ventures and are situated in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Egypt: France-based Vicat’s stake in Sinai Cement has risen to 67% from 51%. The group purchased US$5.65m-worth of additional shares in the producer from separate investors on 13 December 2022. Reuters News has reported that shareholder Arab Industrial Investment sold its 6.6% stake for US$2.29m.

India: Adani Cement has announced the launch of a dedicated waste processing subsidiary called Geoclean. Geoclean will process waste for recycling and use as alternative fuel (AF) in its cement production and alternative raw materials in its production of other building materials. Geoclean inherits the projects and all 14 waste management plants of its predecessor company Geocycle India. The Orissa Diary newspaper has reported that Geoclean aims to help Adani Cement to co-process 3.7Mt of AF over the five-year period up to the end of 2027. This would raise its subsidiaries ACC and Ambuja Cements’ AF substitution rate to 30%, from 6% in 2021.

Adani Cement CEO Ajay Kapur said "We are committed to building a sustainable future by adopting clean and green technologies in our overall business. We have always believed in environmental conservation, and are committed to making the optimum contribution towards co-processing waste responsibly for a sustainable future. Adani Cement will continue its endeavours to promote sustainability and build a cleaner and greener planet."

UK: Germany-based Heidelberg Materials has signed a deal for the acquisition of Mick George Group, the leading concrete recycling company in the East Midlands and East of England. Mick George Group’s 40 sites span bulk excavation, earthmoving and demolition services and demolition waste removal and management, as well as ready-mix concrete and aggregates distribution.

Heidelberg Materials Western and Southern Europe director Jon Morrish said “With the acquisition of Mick George, we are clearly moving towards establishing a truly circular materials and services offer in our UK business. I warmly welcome all 1000 Mick George employees to Heidelberg Materials and look forward to further developing the business together.”

Heidelberg Materials aims to offer circular alternatives for half of its products by 2050.

Colombia: Cemex has announced the launch of the Tunjuelo Circularity Centre at its former Tunjuelo quarry near Bogotá. Having rebuilt parts of the 50m-deep quarry with demolition waste, Cemex will now work on its ecological restoration, while continuing to receive excavation waste for reconstruction of the ground. It will meanwhile divert demolition waste deliveries for recycling in aggregate production. In Bogotá, Cemex has launched an initiative for urban construction partnerships in collaboration with local authorities. It will also collect municipal solid waste (MSW) there for use in its cement production and collect its used plastic cement bags for recycling in building materials production.

Cemex’s Colombia and Peru president Alejandro Ramírez said "This is a pioneering model for Cemex in the construction materials industry globally, which we aim to position as a benchmark for circularity within the sustainable development of large cities in Colombia and the world. A piece of land that supplied materials for Bogotá's development for decades has received construction and demolition waste for its redevelopment and was transformed into a green area to the south of the city, an epicenter of the circular economy and an opportunity for urban development for the capital city of Colombia." 


China: A team at Southeast University has developed an alternative concrete that contains 8% cement. It uses coral reef limestone fragments and biodebris with an upper particle size of 53mm as fine aggregate. The researchers concluded that the material proved suitable for use in precast concrete paving slab production.

Kenya: Savannah Cement has hired China-based Sinoma International Engineering for construction of its upcoming 2.92Mt/yr Kitui clinker plant in Eastern Province. The plant will additionally have a 900,000t/yr grinding unit, a 35MW fossil fuel-fired captive power plant and a 13MW waste heat recovery (WHR) system. Savannah Cement chair Benson Ndeta said that the plant will convert to 100% solar and WHR-powered production by the end of 2029.

Sinoma International Engineering plans to commence the project immediately, and to complete it in late 2024.

China: Chongqing Sifang New Materials says that it has resumed cement production at all sites following the end of the latest round of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. The producer says that it brought capacity back online in a progressive manner.

India: Jaypee Power Ventures' board of directors met on 12 December 2022 to discuss the possible sale of the company's Nigrie grinding plant in Madhya Pradesh. Press Trust of India News has reported that parent company Jaiprakash Jaypee Group's audit committee recommended the sale under proposed measures to reduce the group's debt. The producer had been in talks with Adani Group about the possible sale of its cement business, along with other non-core assets, for US$606m in October 2022.

Jaypee Power Ventures operates 4Mt/yr-worth of cement capacity, 40% of Jaypee Group's total 10Mt/yr.