Global Cement News

UK: Mark Grimshaw-Smith has been appointed as a non-executive director to its Board of Logistics UK. He currently works as the Rail and Sea Manager for Cemex UK. Other appointments to this board include Jamie Hartles, Rem Noormohamed and James Wroath.

Grimshaw-Smith has worked for over 40 years in the construction materials supply chain and logistics sector, covering all modes of transport. He has worked for Cemex for over 15 years, most recently as its Rail and Sea Manager. He helped to develop Cemex's global rail safety standards, representing Cemex’s Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. He is a graduate in economics from the University of Oxford and holds a master’s of business administration (MBA) from the University of Warwick.

Logistics UK is a trade association representing the logistics sector, including road, rail, sea, and air.

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.”

South Africa: Cement producer PPC and independent power producer Yellow Door Energy (YDE) have signed a 24.5MWp solar power purchase agreement. The project will operate under a solar wheeling arrangement, delivering electricity from YDE’s Leeudoringstad solar park to PPC’s Slurry, Dwaalboom, De Hoek and Riebeek operations via the Eskom grid.

YDE will install over 20,000 panels, generating 57.5 million kW in the first year of operation and offsetting 59,800t of CO₂. The project includes a new 43km overhead electrical line connecting the solar park to the Eskom substation.

Nepal: Hetauda Cement Industry will restart production in the first week of April 2025 after completing machinery maintenance, securing raw materials and reaching agreement with employees, according to local news reports. The state-owned plant halted production on 1 October 2024. It has a capacity of 16,000 bags/day.

Acting general manager Nabin Kumar Karna said “It took some time to repair the machinery as it was old and damaged. The machines were installed when the industry was first established in 1977, and replacing them immediately was not possible due to financial constraints. Currently, we have about 100t of coal in stock, and more is expected to arrive starting tomorrow, so the raw material supply is not a major concern.”

Karna said that the electricity issues the company had previously faced had been resolved, and the Nepal Electricity Authority were ‘committed’ to providing a regular electricity supply.

Pakistan: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government will replace ore-based royalties on cement with a 6% royalty on the ex-factory price.

The proposed change will raise costs for producers and follows a similar royalty imposed by the Punjab government in August 2024. Analysts said that manufacturers would need to raise cement prices significantly to offset the impact of the increased royalty.