Global Cement News

India: Dalmia Bharat subsidiary Dalmia Cement has commenced commercial production of cement at the new 2.3Mt/yr production line of its Bengal Cement Works cement plant in Midnapore, West Bengal. The new line brings the plant’s total capacity to 4Mt/yr.

Chief operating officer Ujjwal Batria said, “To ensure that demand is met in a sustainable manner, we have deployed the latest machinery and technology at our Bengal Cement Works unit and will be aiming to produce 100% blended cement. This step is also in line with our commitment to become carbon negative by 2040.” He added, “Post the lockdown-led demand disruption, the cement sector has been continuously witnessing buoyancy across the country. This is largely led by revival in demand from the infrastructure and urban housing sectors, along with the demand from individual homebuilders and the government's rural housing schemes especially from east and central regions. Hence, the onset of commercial production at the Bengal Cement Works unit will enhance our ability to contribute towards nation building and Atmanirbhar Bharat, while also catering to the growing demand from the eastern and north-eastern states of the country.”

Guatemala: Mexico-based Cemex subsidiary Cemex Latam Holdings plans to install a new 1000t/day horizontal ball mill and support infrastructure including a dust collector and 3000t silo at its Puerto de San José grinding plant in Escuintia. Central America Data has reported the value of the work as US$16m.

Tajikistan: Tajik cement plants produced 4.2Mt of cement in 2020. Tajikistan Newsline has reported that cement exports for the year were 1.3Mt. Uzbekistan imported 764,000t, Afghanistan imported 505,000t and Kyrgyzstan imported 42,000t. The Tajikistan Ministry of Industry and New Technologies has predicted a 46% increase in cement exports to 1.9Mt/yr by 2023.

US: Coherent Market Insights (CMI) has forecast in a recent market report that the global cement grinding aids market will grow by 55% to US$5.02bn in 2027 from US$3.23bn in 2019. Factors driving market growth include increased cement industry concerns about energy consumption reduction and product fineness. A major driver is the Asia Pacific market, which accounted for 34% of value in 2019. In North America, US residential construction is forecast to continue its five-year increase. CMI predicted that projects in Saudi Arabia will also drive Middle Eastern market growth. It added that the Covid-19 outbreak has caused a drastic short-term decrease in demand.

UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has announced the accession of a new affiliate member, the Cement Admixtures Association (CAA). The CAA represents admixture producers that supply construction and civil engineering in the UK. It was a founding signatory of Construction Industry Sustainable Construction Strategy in 2008.

MPA chief executive officer Nigel Jackson said, “We are delighted to have the CAA and its members as affiliates of the MPA. We look forward to increasingly close collaboration on our common objectives to improve the sustainability of key mineral products and promoting best practice in concrete and masonry construction.”