Global Cement News

Ethiopia: China-based China National Building Material (CNBM) and its engineering subsidiary Sinoma International have expressed interest in investing in the local cement sector. The comments were made in a meeting with Tefera Derbew, Ethiopia’s ambassador to China, and Liu Yan, an executive director of CNBM and the chair of Sinoma International, according to Fana. During the gathering Derbew noted Sinoma’s contribution so far towards helping build cement plants in the country. CNBM has accepted an invitation to participate in the Invest Ethiopia forum taking place in Addis Ababa in late April 2023.

Kenya: A court has prevented the takeover of a US$47.8m parcel of land belonging to East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) by the government. The court found that the government had not followed proper consultation processes. The East African newspaper has reported that the government had already concluded a deal with China and Oman-based investors for affordable property developments on the land.

EAPCC says that it now plans to use the site to build its own green smart city. The cement producer says that this will help to diversify its income streams.

Russia/Uzbekistan: The US Department of State has imposed sanctions upon USM Holding including its subsidiaries Akkermann Cement and USM Cement in Russia, and Akhangarancement in Uzbekistan. The action is intended to target company owner Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov and his various business interests. Other USM companies in the iron, steel, copper, gold, telecommunications and real estate sectors are also affected.

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control noted that Usmanov was, “one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires, with vast holdings across multiple sectors of the Russian Federation economy as well as internationally.” It added that he was linked to multiple senior Russian officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Dmitry Medvedev, current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia and former President and Prime Minister of Russia. Usmanov has also been sanctioned by Australia, Canada, the European Union (EU), Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the UK.

These latest US sanctions are in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Companies on the sanction list are forbidden to conduct business transactions with any US citizens.

Akkermann Cement operates two cement plants and a network of 12 terminals in Russia. It acquired a majority stake in Uzbekistan-based Akhangarancement in early 2022.

Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) is investigating the large-scale theft of cement from its plants involving company employees. Company president Ernesto Benítez told local radio that at least 10 workers had been stealing around 600 bags of cement on average five times a week to a value of around US$21,000/week, according to the Ultima Hora newspaper. They had been using the company computer system to hide their activities. However, the theft was discovered when company officials noticed that the number of trucks recorded leaving the plant concerned did not match CCTV footage.

Staff members so far found to be part of the fraudulent activity include those working in cargo dispatch, bagging, security and refuse collection. They have all been removed from duty. However the investigation continues and more perpetrators may be found.

Russia: Cemros has started a US$3m upgrade project on cement mill five at its integrated Katavsky plant near Chelyabinsk. The work will see the introduction of a new closed-loop system with a separator. Following its installation, the mill will have a cement output of 114,000t/yr. The upgrade should also deliver an energy saving of up to 30%. Just under half the funding for the project was supplied in the form of a loan from the government. The upgraded mill is expected to be operational in September 2023.