Vietnam: Xuan Thanh Cement has ordered a new production line for a plant in Ha Nam province from Denmark’s FLSmidth for around Euro74m. FLSmidth will design and engineer the new clinker production line and deliver equipment for the entire production from crushing to clinker silo. The order is due to be fully delivered by the end of 2020, and, once operational the production line will have a capacity of 12,500t/day. In 2015, Xuan Thanh Cement placed a similar order for a production line that has been operating since 2017.

Singapore: International Cement Group is planning to build new cement plants in Central Asia, Africa and South-east Asia to complement China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The company, formerly known as Compact Metal Industries, has held a ceremony to mark its listing at the Singapore Stock Exchange, according to the Business Times Singapore newspaper.

The company holds a 65% stake in a 1.2Mt/yr cement plant in Tajikistan. This unit’s production capacity was recently upgraded to 1.35Mt/yr. In mid-2018 it said it was building a new plant in Kazakhstan. This project is scheduled for commissioning by the end of 2019. In late 2018 the group said it had failed to buy a majority stake in a partially-built cement plant at Salamanga in Mozambique. In March 2019 the group agreed to buy a majority stake in Namibia’s Ohorongo Cement from Schwenk Namibia for US$104m.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines plans to build a new cement plant in Bulacan province have been approved by the Board of Investments. The 2.5Mt/yr Bulacan Line 3 plant is part of the company US$300m investment drive to increase its production capacity by 30% by 2020, according to the Manila Times newspaper. The approval also grants the projects tax incentives covered by the government’s investment code.

Mexico: Rogelio Zambrano, president of the board of directors of Cemex, says that the group intends to spend US$850m towards expanding existing cement plants and promoting renewable energy projects in 2019. Around US$160m will be invested in Mexico, mainly in central and southeastern plants, according to the Expansión newspaper. Zambrano made the comments at an annual investors meeting. The group has also published its integrated report for 2018. It reported a 27.1% alternative fuels substitution rate for the business and a 26% rate of power consumption for cement production from renewable sources.

Pakistan: Two workers have died at DG Cement’s Khairpur plant. They were both killed by ammonia gas poisoning after falling into a sewer at the site, according to the Dawn newspaper. The investigation continues.

Colombia: Argos Group plans to invest US$819m in its cement, construction and energy subsidiaries in 2019. The spending at Cementos Argos will aim to double the company’s earnings from 2018 to 2023.

Ivory Coast: Prestige Cement has inaugurated a 1.2Mt/yr plant at Abidjan. The Chinese-Ivorian joint venture had an investment of around US$35m, according to the Agence de Presse Africaine. The unit has two 0.6Mt/yr production lines using vertical roller mills. Souleymane Diarrassouba, Minister of Commerce, Industry and SME Promotion, attended the event on behalf of the government. Chinese ambassador Tang Weibin was also in attendence.

Kuwait: Kuwait Cement has hired Belgium’s Magotteaux to modernise three of its cement mills. The project consists of closing the open circuit with fourth generation XP4i separators, installing new mill internals components, including diaphragms, and adapting a new ball charge gradation. The aim of the project is to increase the production rate, reduce the specific energy consumption and improve the product quality, by reducing the residue on 45μm by keeping the same Blaine value.

Uzbekistan: Qizilqumsement has started building a US$110m upgrade to its Qizilqum cement plant. The project is intended to increasing the plant’s clinker production capacity and decrease energy costs. It is scheduled for completion in 2020.

Afghanistan/Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan’s Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex (AMMC) has started exporting cement to Afghanistan. A trial consignment of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) was despatched from the company’s new 1.5Mt/yr Sherabad cement plant in Surkhandarya, according to the Trend News Agency. It intends to export 0.5Mt/yr to Afghanistan. As part of a contract signed with the Hamid Company just under 1000t of cement has been sent by train to Mazar-i-Sharif.