US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has backed President Donald Trump’s call for US$1.5tn to be invested in infrastructure. It has urged the US Congress to take ‘swift’ legislative action to fund and sustain such projects.

“America’s cement producers are proud to play a critical role in what the president so aptly described as our nation of builders,” said PCA President and chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Ireland. “Today, our industry is ready to help America both rebuild long-neglected infrastructure, and construct new-and-improved transportation networks capable of serving the nation long into the future.” He added that the cement industry also supported the need to address significant federal funding gaps including a shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund.

Iran: Cement production fell by 4.8% year-on-year to 37.7Mt in the eight-month period to 21 November 2017. The decline has been blamed on a recession in the construction industry, poor natural gas supplies and falling export rates, according to the Trend News Agency. The country produced 54.1Mt of cement in its last financial year. Cement production capacity has risen significantly locally from 29.5Mt/yr in 2001 to 83Mt/yr in 2017. The number of cement plants has grown from 30 to 72.

Saudi Arabia: Finland’s Wärtsilä has provided an update on a three-year asset management deal for Northern Region Cement’s (NRC) power plant at its Turaif plant signed in October 2017. Wärtsilä will continue to be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the power plant and to ensure the reliability and availability of its operations. This agreement is an extension of Wärtsilä’s previous service agreements for NRC’s power plant. The first service agreement with NRC was signed in 2008.

“We are proud to be able to continue our 10-year cooperation with NRC. By having full responsibility for the operation and maintenance of NRC’s power plant, we have been able to ensure reliable operations, optimised fuel consumption and reduced maintenance costs for NRC,” said Haidar al Hertani, managing director, Wärtsilä Saudi Arabia.

The agreement covers all aspects of operating and maintaining NRC’s power plant, including the day-to-day operation of the power plant as well as preventive and predictive maintenance. Wärtsilä’s Customer Centre in Dubai remotely monitors the power plant’s condition. Wärtsilä has also carried out electrical and automation services to improve the performance and extend the lifespan of NRC’s power plant.

The 62MW power plant is equipped with nine Wärtsilä 32 engines and provides energy for NRC’s Turaif cement plant. The cement plant has two production lines, producing nearly 10,000t/day of cement.

Pakistan: Mega Conglomerate says it plans to buy an 87.5% stake in Dewan Cement. The buyer operates in the dairy and real estate sectors. Dewan Cement operates two cement plants. Bestway Cement and Fecto Cement have previously made bids for Dewan Cement.