Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW762 / 03 June 2026

Headlines


We’ve covered some stories this week about new cement plants in Central Asia. Four new plants have been announced in Tajikistan and construction has started on an integrated plant in Kazakhstan. Let’s recap what’s been happening.

The office of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon announced that four new cement plants will be built to provide 6Mt/yr of production capacity by 2029. The plan is intended to increase domestic production, create a surplus and stabilise prices. The press release noted that local production grew to 5Mt in 2025 from 0.3Mt/yr in 2014. It also admitted that there have been ‘challenges’ with industry coordination, capacity utilisation and distribution. Cement prices have risen and localised shortages have been reported in recent months. The government says it is taking action in response to this. Separate media reports from the country, in late May 2026, suggest that cement prices have doubled recently, matching the cost of imports. This has been linked to a maintenance shutdown at the Jung-Tsai Mohir Cement plant in Yovon, high local demand and mounting exports to Afghanistan.

Then, in Kazakhstan, it emerged that construction work had commenced on the QazCem Industries plant at Baikaninsky in Aktobe. The US$177m project has a production capacity of 1.3Mt/yr. It is a joint-venture between China-based Sinoma Cement Company and Primus Capital. It is intended that three-quarters of the project will be built in 2026. Once completed the plant will target demand in the south of the country, with the option for export markets too. Other recent cement plant projects in the country include a US$222m unit at Alginsky in Aktobe in connection with West China Cement, which started construction in October 2025 and International Cement Group, which opened its fourth unit in the country in late 2024.

Another view on the cement market in Kazakhstan could be detected this week from Steppe Cement’s financial results for 2025. The leading cement producer in the country reported that its revenues rose by 20% year-on-year to US$101m. Its profit after tax more than tripled to US$3.3m. The company noted the contribution that residential construction growth had made to its balance sheet. Yet, it also warned of input cost inflation, negative currency exchange rate effects and competition from imports in the south of the country.

Graph 1: Cement production in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, 2018 - 2025

Graph 1: Cement production in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, 2018 - 2025. Sources: Qazstat, Tajstat & Uzstat, figure estimated for 2025 in Tajikistan.

Uzbekistan, meanwhile, has generally been the other big cement producer in Central Asia. As can be seen in Graph 1 above, its annual production was generally around 10Mt from 2018 to 2023 and then it jumped up to 20Mt in 2025 following the opening of a number of new plants. A review of the local sector by Avestra Investment Group reported that the country’s capacity utilisation rate fell from 92% in 2019 to 45% in 2024. It has since improved somewhat to 50% in 2025. New companies entered the sector from 2019, mostly from China, including Huaxin Cement, Namangan Cement, Fergona Yasin, Andijon WCC Cement, Toshkent Konch Cement, and China Energy JV. Overcapacity in Uzbekistan also has implications for neighbouring countries as local producers have turned to exports. Tajikistan, for example, reported a fall in cement production and exports in 2024.

Coincidentally, Uzbekistan presented the results from its first systematic assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from its cement industry at a seminar in April 2026. The event was hosted by the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The country currently aims to reduce the carbon intensity of its gross domestic product by 50% by 2035, compared to 2010 levels, and is considering becoming carbon neutral by 2060. The cement sector is considering levers such as optimising cement composition, improving energy efficiency and increasing the use of alternative fuels.

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan are the most populous countries in Central Asia. Consequently they have the largest cement industries. All three sectors have been growing in recent years as the nations develop, and as China has started financing and building cement plants overseas. This progress can be seen in the reports of new plants from Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. The aftermath is observable in Uzbekistan. Here, the new plants have been built and the industry is learning to cope with overcapacity. Its experience will be watched by its neighbours.


Germany: Heidelberg Materials Trading has appointed Francesco Brambilla as its CEO. He succeeds Jose Maria Magrina in the role, who will take up another role in Heidelberg Materials Group.

Brambilla joined Italcementi in 2001 and held several managerial roles, including  International Terminals Director in Switzerland. In 2016 he took the role of Area Director Market Intelligence & Sales Processes for the Africa-Eastern Mediterranean Basin Group area at Heidelberg Materials. He later became Area Director Business Operations for the Africa-Mediterranean-Western Asia (AMWA) Group area in 2024. Brambilla holds a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Pavia and executive master of business administration (MBA) qualifications from the Mannheim Business School and the ESSEC Business School.


US: Tony Kasten has retired as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the Monarch Cement. He has now become a freelance business consultant.

Kasten started working for the Kansas-based cement producer as a senior accountant in 2002, according to the Chanute Tribune newspaper. He later became the company’s Senior Accountant and Corporate Controller and then its CFO in 2019. He reportedly played a key role in several acquisitions, including Joplin Concrete, followed by Neosho Concrete, Concrete Industries at DCC, Concrete Enterprises South, Kay Concrete, Hays Ready Mix and American Concrete.

Monarch Cement operates an integrated cement plant at Humboldt in Kansas.


Global: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and the Global CCS Institute (GCCSI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance the development and scale-up of carbon capture and storage (CCS) across the global cement and concrete sector. The two-year partnership will work to accelerate industrial decarbonisation through capacity building, shared outreach, stakeholder engagement and thought leadership.

The partnership was announced at the GCCA's CEO Strategic Dialogue 2026 in Madrid, Spain. As a first milestone, the parties will convene a high-level roundtable, bringing together industry leaders and key stakeholders to accelerate progress on CCS in the cement sector. The two organisations will promote awareness of CCS technologies for cement, advocate for CCS as a critical component of cement sector decarbonisation strategies and share technical insights and policy considerations to support CCS adoption.

GCCA CEO Thomas Guillot said "The cement and concrete industry has been making progress to achieve its mission to fully decarbonise, utilising a variety of technologies and mechanisms. We know that carbon capture and storage is a crucial lever for the industry to get there and we know that the technology works. Through working more closely with the GCCSI we are looking forward to helping our members reach their net zero goals more quickly through the use of CCS project pathways, including crucial policy outreach."

GCCSI CEO Jarad Daniels said "Cement producers around the world are working to reduce emissions while continuing to supply a material that is essential to building resilient and safe infrastructure, and CCS will be an important part of that effort. Through this partnership, we aim to support the industry by sharing expertise, fostering dialogue, and creating the conditions needed for CCS projects to succeed."


UK: AI company Gigaton, formerly Carbon Re, has raised US$26m in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to over US$35m. It said that the funding would enable a fivefold increase in its team, as well as expansion outside of cement, into the steel, glass and chemicals sectors. It said that this would enable its mission to reduce emissions on a ‘gigaton’ scale. The company is further developing its control platform with a small group of partners, with plans to scale deployment across ‘dozens of sites’ in the next growth phase.

Josh Vernon, CEO of Gigaton, said "Every cement executive I speak to is facing the same challenges: costs they struggle to control, carbon they struggle to reduce and plants that weren't built for the world they're operating in today. The underlying software infrastructure most plants run on today was never built to manage the complexity plants are forced to deal with today. We have built Gigaton to deliver real cost and carbon savings now, while building the AI infrastructure these industries need in a fully autonomous future."

Gigaton’s self-learning technology operates within plant infrastructure, simulating process behaviour and forecasting the impact of each action, allowing it to autonomously adjust key parameters, including fuel mix, kiln speed and oxygen levels. The AI platform is designed to replace the existing control stack, resulting in lower energy and fuel costs, reduced emissions, and greater stability for operators, according to the company.


Germany: Global investment firm Carlyle today announced that it has agreed to sell Germany-based mechanical drive supplier Flender to Triton Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. 
 
Flender supplies gearboxes, couplings and generators for a broad range of industrial applications. It was divested from Siemens in 2021 and acquired by Carlyle.


North Korea: The Sangwon Cement Complex carried out its monthly plan for May 2026 ahead of schedule, according to state-owned Korean News. It also reported that Sunchon Cement Complex had produced 21,000t more of cement than in May 2026.


Pakistan: Total cement despatches in Pakistan fell by 21% year-on-year to 3.84Mt in May 2026, according to data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). Local despatches fell by 17% to 3.21Mt, while exports fell by 36% to 0.63Mt.

In the first 11 months of Pakistan’s 2026 financial year, total despatches rose by 6% year-on-year to 46.3Mt. Domestic despatches rose by 8% to 38.0Mt, while exports fell by 1% to 8.24Mt.


Kazakhstan: Construction has begun on a US$177m integrated cement plant in the Baikaninsky District of Aktobe, Kazakhstan, according to SeeTao news. The plant will have a capacity of 3500t/day (1.2Mt/yr) of cement and is the result of a joint venture between China-based Sinoma and Primus Capital of Kazakhstan, called Qazcem Industries. Sinoma’s parent company China National Building Materials said that the project is being undertaken by its subsidiary Beijing Triumph International Engineering, and that the lifting of the first column for the kiln tail tower had been completed.

Ashat Shaharov, the administrative chief of Aktobe region, said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the plant was a ‘concrete result’ of an agreement reached during the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan to China. He said that after the plant begins operation, it will create 250-300 jobs, and that 187 had already been created during the construction phase.

Sapalbek Tuyakbayev, founder of Primus Capital Holding, said "The construction project of cement plants in the Aktobe region is a successful result of attracting foreign direct investment and introducing advanced international technology. For Primus Capital, this is not the first project involving foreign partners and international capital. We are collaborating with Sinoma Cement to build a high-tech production facility that meets the best international energy efficiency and environmental safety standards."


Philippines: The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will impose safeguard duties on cement imports from China and Indonesia after both countries' shipments to the Philippines exceeded the de minimis exemption threshold of 3% of total import volume. Under Department Administrative Order 26-03, the DTI will remove China and Indonesia from the list of developing countries exempted from duties on ordinary Portland cement type 1 and blended cement for three years.

The DTI introduced duties on cement imports in October 2025 after the Tariff Commission found a causal link between increased importation and serious injury to the local industry, with measures taking effect in February 2026. China's share of total import volume rose from 11% in 2025 to 23% in the first quarter of 2026, while Indonesia's share rose by 2 percentage points to 8% over the same period. Vietnam remains the top supplier, though its share declined from 79% in 2025 to 63% in the first quarter of 2026.

DAO 26-03 will take effect upon the issuance of a relevant order by the Bureau of Customs.


Egypt: Arabian Cement recorded consolidated net profits of US$18m in the first quarter of 2026. Net sales reached US$57.6m from US$49m. As for the standalone business, the company posted higher net profits of US$18m in the first three months of 2026, compared to US$11m a year earlier.


Morocco: Cement deliveries reached 1.21Mt in May 2026, compared to 1.53Mt in May 2025, representing a decline of 20% year-on-year. According to data published by the Ministry of National Territorial Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Urban Policy, deliveries in the first five months of 2026 were 5.73Mt, down by 5% year-on-year from 6.05Mt. Statistics are based on internal data from members of the Professional Association of Cement Manufacturers (APC): Asment Temara, Ciments de L’Atlas, Ciments du Maroc, LafargeHolcim Maroc and Novacim.


India: Adani Group will invest over US$26m in a greenfield cement plant, expected to be operational in 2028 and spread across 80 hectares. It is expected to be a grinding plant due to the size of the investment, and will have a capacity of 5Mt/yr. The Kharagpur plant had initially been proposed by ACC in 2012 but, when the company failed to commence work within five years, it was vested back to the state. When Adani Group acquired ACC in 2023 and learnt about the proposal, it made an application for the land.


Spain: Cemex will invest €451m to decarbonise its Alcanar plant in Montsià, up from €382m, following the final resolution of the second call for proposals under Spain's PERTE decarbonisation programme, funded by the European Commission's Next Generation EU instrument. The Spanish government will provide €200m in grants, up from €172m in the provisional resolution.

Following the provisional resolution, Cemex submitted appeals that resulted in the upward revision of the eligible budget to €451m. Cemex and other finalist projects have ten business days from publication of the final resolution to accept the grant and submit the required guarantee and environmental certificate.


Australia: Cement Australia has temporarily shut operations at its Railton plant as it upgrades its coal-fired kiln to accept alternative fuel sources such as used tyres and ‘sustainable’ wood waste, according to ABC News. The plant, located in north-west Tasmania, will stop production for an estimated 45 days to allow for the US$77.5m works, as the company moves to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. However, conservationists are reportedly concerned over the source of the proposed wood waste, which would be either from plantation timber or native logging, and opponents have said that the move to wood chips as fuel could increase emissions.

In 2024, Cement Australia's CEO Rob Davies said that alternative fuels would make up 35% of the Railton plant's fuel use, with wood chips making up 30% and used tyres 5%. The company started using alternative fuels in 2008, and they now account for 15% of its fuel use. In 2024, the government announced US$38m in funding for the kiln's ‘Alternate Fuels Project,’ as part of the US$237m ‘Powering the Regions’ Fund, which is intended to help nine heavy industrial manufacturers to decarbonise. By switching to alternative fuels, Cement Australia expects to reduce coal use by 111,000t/yr, and reduce its CO₂ emissions by 105,000t/yr. In April 2026, Tasmania's Environment Protection Authority (EPA) gave the project the green light, but with strict conditions.

"The board determined that while the proposal would deliver an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and dust generated at the site, further action is required in relation to existing nitrogen dioxide emissions," the EPA said in a statement. Conditions imposed relate to air pollutant emissions, noise from site operations and vehicle movements.

It is expected that after the shutdown from May-July 2026, Cement Australia will start operating with the new fuels.


Peru: National cement shipments in Peru rose by 12% year-on-year in April 2026 to 1.08Mt, with accumulated 12-month shipments up by 11%. Cement production rose by 13% year-on-year to 970,000t in April 2026, with accumulated 12-month production up by 9%. Clinker production fell by 8% year-on-year to 720,000t, though accumulated 12-month production rose by 6%.

Cement exports rose by 26% year-on-year to 11,821t in April 2026, with accumulated 12-month exports up by 2%. Clinker exports rose by 100% year-on-year to 71,625t, with accumulated 12-month exports up by 59%. Cement imports fell by 72% year-on-year to 14,877t in April 2026, though accumulated 12-month imports rose by 27%, arriving via the port of Matarani (35%) and the Tacna land terminal from Chile (65%). Clinker imports rose by 46% year-on-year to 102,580t, with accumulated 12-month imports up by 40%, arriving via the port of Callao from Korea (42%) and the port of Pisco from Vietnam (58%).


UK: Oil and gas company BP has removed its chair Albert Manifold, former chair of Ireland-based cement producer CRH, after allegations of misconduct. Media reports described his behaviour with different colleagues across the company as ‘aggressive,’ with BP expressing ‘serious concerns about his governance standards, oversight and conduct,’ according to The Guardian. Manifold was appointed in October 2025, having previously served more than a decade at CRH. Manifold has said that he “may have pushed hard and challenged people directly,” but he disputed reports from the company about his behaviour, adding that such ‘accusations’ had never been made about his behaviour during his 40-year career and that he ‘did not accept’ the ‘lies that [were] told’ about him.

Manifold said “I had no interest in having a dedicated chauffeur-driven limousine at my beck and call on the occasions that I was in London. I, like most people, walked, took taxis, trains, etc. I had no interest in taking private aviation nor in availing myself of corporate tickets for sports events. I made my own coffee, bought my lunch in the local cafe. I sat in a small office, eschewing the grand corner-office privilege of previous chairmen.” Manifold reportedly did this to ‘set an example’ at a time when the company was cutting costs and letting workers go.

BP said “We note the comments of our former chair. We stand by the statement we have made. We have a duty of care to all our employees, particularly those impacted by his behaviour.”


Tajikistan: Four new cement plants with a combined production capacity of 6Mt/yr are expected to be commissioned in various regions of Tajikistan by 2029, according to President Emomali Rahmon, who has directed authorities to ensure that domestic demand for cement is fully met through local production. The commissioning of the new facilities is expected to double cement production in Tajikistan, which could result in surplus supply of cement and stabilise prices. According to the State Statistical Committee, industrial production in Tajikistan reached approximately US$746m in the first three months of 2026.


Kyrgyzstan: Cement production in Kyrgyzstan increased by 48% in April 2026 compared to April 2025, according to the National Statistical Committee. The figure reached 540,300t, compared to 364,000t a year ago. Cumulative production in the first three months of 2026 reached 1.4Mt.


Mexico: Cooperativa La Cruz Azul expects to achieve 17% growth in cement production by the end of 2026, according to Víctor Manuel Velázquez Rangel, chair of the board of directors. The company ended 2025 with a 9% increase in production compared to 2024, reportedly due to infrastructure upgrades and administrative efficiency.


Zambia: Zambia's state investment firm ZCCM Investments Holdings has partnered with China-based ​Wonderful Group to restore a ‌lime and cement production facility in the Copperbelt region. ZCCM-IH and Wonderful Group will develop and operate the integrated lime ​and cement plant through a new ​joint venture vehicle called Ndola Lime. The joint ⁠venture will reportedly be backed by a US$30m ​investment from Wonderful Group, according to Reuters. The 95-year-old plant previously faced operational ​difficulties, which led to insolvency in ​2018. Its revival will be implemented in three phases, with ‌the ⁠first phase focused on the construction and commissioning of a lime production plant with a capacity of 600t/day. The second phase will deliver ​either a cement plant ⁠or a second lime production plant, ZCCM-IH said, and the third phase will ​be further expansion based on market conditions. Wonderful ​Group ⁠will hold 55% of Ndola Lime through a US$25m equity contribution and a US$5m shareholder loan. ZCCM-IH will hold ⁠the ​remaining 45% interest via the ​contribution of operating assets and the write-off of US$9.8m of historic debt.


Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has reported a rise in revenue of 20% to US$101m for the year ending 31 December 2025, while earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased to US$11.8m from US$7.5m. Net profit climbed to US$3.2m from US$1.0m in 2024. Sales volumes increased by 21% to around 2.07Mt, while Steppe maintained a 14% market share. The wider Kazakh cement market grew by more than 20% to exceed 14Mt, supported by residential construction, infrastructure projects and urbanisation.

The company said that operational improvements on Line 6 helped to increase clinker production to 1.63Mt from 1.47Mt. The board at Steppe Cement has also approved a US$30m expansion project to raise clinker capacity from 3000t/day to 4500t/day. The investment is expected to support future cement production capacity of around 2.5Mt/yr, with completion targeted for summer 2027. Steppe said the project includes a new cooler, raw mill, riser duct rebuild, new cyclones and kiln modifications, and is expected to reduce coal and electricity consumption per tonne.


Nepal: Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Gauri Kumari Yadav inspected the Hetauda Cement Industry plant on 24 May 2026. The minister visited the state-owned cement plant to assess its condition and also talked to the management and employees regarding the repeated shutdowns the plant has faced over the years.

Minister Yadav said it was ‘extremely unfortunate’ that a government-owned cement plant had remained closed, adding that the government was preparing to bring all closed plants back into operation. “We are studying how the Hetauda Cement Industry can be operated regularly,” Yadav said. “It is very unfortunate that many private cement industries are operating regularly while a government-owned cement industry remains closed. When a plant shuts down, not only are jobs lost, but the country’s economy is also affected. Therefore, the government wants to operate the cement industry by any means possible, and cooperation from all sides is necessary.”

Acting general manager of Hetauda Cement Industry Shivanarayan Sah said the plant had been shut down due to outdated and deteriorating machinery, and the inability to supply raw materials because of financial constraints. He said that the plant had continued limited cement production through periodic maintenance of the machinery, but operations had to be halted recently after raw material supplies stopped. Sah also said that due to financial difficulties, employees had not received salaries for the past 11 months and electricity bills still remained unpaid.


Philippines: Cement manufacturers are no longer expecting demand growth in 2026, as slower government infrastructure spending continues to weigh on construction activity, according to the Business Inquirer. Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) president Reinier Dizon said the industry had yet to see a meaningful increase in demand, even after the peak construction season from February to April. Dizon said that government infrastructure spending, which accounts for about 40% of total cement demand, remained ‘sluggish.’ Although CEMAP has yet to complete its full assessment of industry demand for 2026, Dizon said that the market would likely end the year with a single-digit contraction.