India: Ramco Cements has commissioned a 9MW waste heat recovery (WHR) power plant at its 3.7Mt/yr Jayanthipuram, Andhra Pradesh cement plant. Chief executive officer (CEO) Av Dharmakrishnan said, “Besides savings in power cost, the installation of WHR systems in our plants will also reduce CO₂ emissions substantially, which will have a positive impact on the environment.”

BusinessLine Online News has reported that Ramco Cements is currently building a 12MW WHR power plant at its upcoming Kolumigundla, Andhra Pradesh cement plant. When the plant becomes operational it, will bring the company’s total WHR power generation capacity to 39MW.

Pakistan: The government of the Punjab has constituted a supervisory committee to present recommendations for easing the ‘complicated and lengthy’ processes surrounding the granting of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in order for the establishment of cement plants. The News International has reported that Chief Minister Sardar Buzdar said, “Investors will be provided every facility and actions will be initiated against the officials concerned for any unnecessary delay.”

Ethiopia: The Ministry of Trade and Industry says that it is granting licences for the import of 16Mt over the financial year ending 7 July 2021, the 2021 financial year. The Ethiopian Press Agency has reported that the cause of the measure is a cement shortage resulting in inflated prices. The order requires importers to import a minimum of 3000t of cement, and to begin importing before 8 December 2020.

Director of communication affairs Wondimu Flate said, “The directive was prepared in order to enable cement factories to produce at their full potential and to connect those engaged in the sector from the manufacturer and importer to the retail business, with supply and distribution being monitored and used.”

Zambia: Dangote Cement Zambia says that it has no source of reasonably priced gypsum following the closure of Chambeshi Minerals. The Mast newspaper has reported that other local suppliers are quoting prices for the raw material in US dollars because of currency devaluation due to the weak economic situation following a coronavirus-related lockdown.

The immediate effect of the supply chain disruption has been a rise in cement prices. Copperbelt Provincial Minister Japhen Mwakalombe said, “For us to develop, we need infrastructure development. We can’t build without cement and our people can’t afford these prices. Quoting in dollars shows that gypsum dealers want to sabotage the economy and we need the law to address this. It shows that some companies are not patriotic and do not want to support the government of the day.”