UAE: Arkan Building Materials has sold the closed Emirates Cement plant for US$13.6m, according to Mubasher. The unit was originally closed in late 2016 on a temporary basis due to rising gas and electricity costs. It later decided to permanently close the plant. The company continues to run its Al Ain Cement plant.

Georgia: Mamuka Bakhtadz, the prime minister of Georgia, has officially opened a US$100m upgrade to HeidelbergCement’s Kaspi cement plant. Work on the new dry production line at the site started in mid-2016. A filtration system and equipment for continuous emission control were installed to allow for online monitoring of the plant's dust and emission volumes. The project was supported by the Georgian Co-Investment Fund and Honeywell Partners.

US: Port Manatee in Florida has received its first shipment of raw materials for cement production. The Osprey I delivered 47,650t of raw materials from Europe as part of a deal with Carver Companies to renovate the port. As part of the agreement arranged in mid-2018, Carver has renovated a 7.5 hectare cargo facility with deep-water access, including the rehabilitation a 425m conveyor system on the leased site.

Guinea: Germany’s Intercem has won an order to build a new 500t/day cement grinding plant for Les Cimenteries de la Basse-Guinée. Ground breaking is scheduled for the start of March 2019. Cement production is expected in mid-2020. No value for the contract has been disclosed.

The contract includes: a raw material storage with a capacity of 12,000t; a 70t/hr cement grinding plant with a vertical roller mill with four rollers and installed power of 1.25kW and a high efficiency separator; the transport to two 1000t cement silos; two truck loading stations for bulk cement; a packing plant with eight-spout rotary packer and two loading stations for bagged cement; the sub-systems; the electrical equipment; the complete engineering; the supervision of the erection; and the commissioning. All the equipment will be delivered from European manufacturers.