Tunisia: United Cement Investor will start building a new 1.5Mt/yr cement plant at Bir Thlathin in southern Tataouine in March 2019. The project has a cost of around US$320m, according to the Agency Tunis Afrique Press. Local investment will total around US$95m. The project is expected to create 419 direct jobs and 600 indirect jobs.

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (France) has been involved with the project. Investment is coming from local, UAE-based and German financiers.

Pakistan: Shariq Siddiqui, chief executive officer (CEO) of Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT), forecasts that coal imports for cement producers will rise to 10Mt/yr in 2020 from 8Mt/yr at present. This growth will be driven by new cement production capacity that is being commissioned, according to the News International newspaper. Overall, total coal imports are expected to grow to 30Mt/yr in 2020 driven by new coal-fired power stations.

Bangladesh: Chhatak Cement plans to spend US$106m on building a new dry production line at its plant near Dhaka. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2021, according to the Financial Express newspaper. The subsidiary of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) plans to finance the upgrade with a US$63m loan from the government. The plant is currently using equipment that is up to 80 years old. At present it has a production capacity of 70,000t/yr despite upgrades in the 1980s and 2000.

Iran: Jafar Sarqeini, the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade for Mining Affairs, says that US-backed trade sanctions have not slowed cement exports. He added that the embargo has only placed some obstacles in the way of financial transactions and return of money to the country, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. The official said that the local industry can export up to 20Mt/yr of cement. Local production capacity is forecast to reach 120Mt/yr by 2025. However, a recession in the mining sector has kept production behind capacity.