Japan: Taiheiyo Cement says it has started the country’s first carbon capture and storage (CCS) test at its Fujiwara plant in Inabe, in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment. It is testing a chemical absorption method on kiln exhaust gases at the plant. Further installations on the project will continue during January 2019.

India: Shree Cement has commissioned its 3Mt/yr integrated plant at Kodla, Kalaburagi in Karnataka state. The cement mill and the clinker line at the line were commissioned at the same time in late December 2018.

Bangladesh: Saudi Arabia’s Southern Province Cement has signed a deal with Peakward Enterprises in Hong Kong to export 1.5Mt of clinker to Bangladesh. The first shipment was scheduled to start on 31 December 2018 and they will run until the end of June 2020. No value for the contract has been disclosed.

Namibia: China’s Tianjin Cement Industry Design & Research Institute (TDI) has successfully ignited the kiln on a new 1.2Mt/yr production line at Whale Rock Cement’s plant near Otjiwarongo. The Chinese equipment supplier says that the line was started on 25 December 2018, 58 days ahead of the contracted start date. The project officially began in late 2017. The US$350m plant was originally scheduled to be commissioned in late October 2018, according to local media.