Global Cement News

Nepal: The Supreme Court has issued a landmark directive requiring industries within 15km of Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Gautam Buddha, to relocate or shut down within two years to preserve the UNESCO World Heritage site. The ruling directly affects around 15 companies, including Arghakhanchi Cement, Jagdamba Cement and Brij Cement, according to The New Business Age newspaper.

The Court annulled earlier government decisions that allowed industrial activity in the area, declaring that protecting Lumbini’s sanctity was of global cultural and spiritual importance. It also prohibited capacity expansion or capital investment in existing plants and reaffirmed a 2009 resolution banning new carbon-emitting industries near the site.

Bishnu Prasad Neupane, chair of the Saurabh Group, which operates Jagdamba Cement, said that compensation must extend beyond land value if the relocation becomes mandatory, noting that US$142–212m has already been invested in the affected industries. Neupane also said “Grinding units do not burn coal or release carbon emissions. We have installed dust-control systems. Claims that dust travels 15km to reach Lumbini are unfounded.”

India: Gebr. Pfeiffer has received an order to supply a cement grinding plant for JSW Cement in Nagaur, Rajasthan. The plant will use an MVR 3750 C-4 vertical roller mill equipped with a latest-generation SLS 4000 BC classifier. The system is designed to grind 132t/hr of ordinary Portland cement to a fineness of ≤8% R45µm or 155t/hr of pozzolanic Portland cement to a fineness of ≤8% R45µm.

Greece: Heracles Group, a member of Holcim, has commissioned a 6.5MW solar power station at its Milaki plant, equipped with more than 11,000 panels. The facility is now fully operational.

The installation is expected to generate about 10,000MW/yr of electricity, covering a significant share of the plant’s energy needs and cutting CO₂ emissions by 2350t/yr.

India: Ramco Cements has commissioned an 8MW waste heat recovery system at its Ramasamy Raja Nagar cement plant. With this addition, the site’s waste heat power generation capacity has increased from 2MW to 10MW. The producer said its total waste heat power generation capacity has increased from 45.15MW to 53.15MW.

Kenya: Cement production rose by 17% year-on-year to 4.85Mt in the first half of 2025 from 4.14Mt in the same period of 2024, according to The Kenyan Wall Street newspaper. Monthly output surpassed 0.8Mt consistently from March to June 2025, the first four-month streak above that level since July to November 2023. May 2025 was the strongest month, with 0.85Mt produced.

Cement consumption grew by 22% to 4.76Mt in the first half of 2025 from 3.90Mt in 2024. Consumption peaked in May 2025 at 0.83Mt, the highest monthly level since August 2023, supported by housing, infrastructure and commercial construction demand.