Global Cement News

Ivory Coast: Dangote Cement has announced the imminent commissioning of its 3Mt/yr grinding plant in Ivory Coast, which it says will take place in the third quarter of 2025. The company says that the investment is part of its drive to enhance its regional presence in West Africa. The company’s CEO Arvin Pathak noted that the plant will streamline and provide flexibility to Dangote’s exports in West Africa, which grew by 18.2% in the first half of 2025.

Dangote Cement is Africa’s largest cement producer, with a capacity of 48.6Mt/yr. It already operates in more than 10 African markets, including Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Ghana.

Uzbekistan: Cement plants in Uzbekistan produced 9.16Mt of Portland cement during the first half of 2025, according data from the National Statistics Committee (NSC). The NSC reported that this was 18.2% more than in the first half of 2024, when 7.74Mt was produced. First half production has now increased by nearly 60% in just two years, with just 5.73Mt produced in the first half of 2023.

Costa Rica: Holcim Costa Rica has issued its first sustainability report, which states that it reduced CO₂ emissions by 19% between 2018 and 2024. During the last year, the company prevented the release of more than 4600t of CO₂ thanks to improvements in thermal efficiency. It also processed more than 72,000t of municipal and industrial waste as energy or alternative fuel in cement production and reused more than 90% of the industrial water consumed at its cement plant. It reported that it has reached gender equality within its executive team, with 50% female and 50% male leadership.

Holcim Costa Rica’s 2030 goals include achieving a 32% reduction in primary CO₂ emissions from cement plant operations, a 5% reduction in electricity consumption and a 21% reduction in logistics emissions, while reaching a net positive impact on biodiversity, and reducing the use of fresh water.

North Korea: The Sangwon Cement Complex has reported that it ‘successfully fulfilled its economic plan for July 2025,’ following an overhaul of its No. 1 cement production which is reported to have increased its capacity. This includes an upgrade to the microalloying process used to cast components for the plant, which has enabled longer service life for components and reduced costs.

Local press reported that the plant was ‘intensifying the drive for increased production to send more cement to the forefronts of socialist construction.’

Germany: Heidelberg Materials revenue grew by 4% year-on-year to €10.4bn in the first half of 2025 from €9.99bn in the same period in 2024. Its result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation (RCOBD) rose by 5.6% to €1.93bn from €1.83bn. By region revenue and RCOBD rose everywhere except for Pacific Asia and North America respectively.

Dominik von Achten, chair of Heidelberg Materials, said “Next to price adjustments, our strict cost management has proven particularly effective in the second quarter. Our ongoing Transformation Accelerator initiative is fully on track and has helped us to grow our earnings once again with further increasing cost savings… Even though demand is still volatile in some regions, we expect that stabilisation in our core markets is continuing.”

The group opened the world's first industrial-scale carbon capture and storage unit at its Brevik cement plant in Norway in June 2025. Production also started in May 2025 at its calcined clay plant joint-venture in Ghana. In July 2025 the group commenced operations at an industrial pilot plant for enforced carbonation in Górażdże, Poland.