Germany: Frankfurt-based fashion designer Concrete Jungle has won the Inhorgenta Fashion Jewellery Award 2019 and the German Design Award for Excellent Product Design 2019 for its Grey Rosé range of jewellery. The collection includes earrings, pendants and wedding rings, which showcase the beauty of concrete. The concrete is inlaid with metallic shards. “The particular challenges of mixing these elements necessitated particular techniques. We were able to work extremely delicately while achieving the enormous stability that characterises our jewellery,” said Concrete Jungle partner Madlen Thorwarth.

India: Deccan Cements has shared plans to expand its Suryapet waste heat recovery (WHR) power plant in Telangana to 33MW from 18MW. Domex Power Genration Projects has reported that the cost of the development will be US$84.5m and it will take 24 months to complete once statutory clearance is received.

Hungary: Lafarge Cement Hungary has announced plans to upgrade clinker production at its 1.0Mt/yr Kiralyagyháza integrated plant with a Euro1.79m investment in chlorine bypass technology, which uses powdered limestone to remove chlorine and one tenth of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) from gases released in clinker production, which will then be used in clinker cooling. There will be a concomitant increase in the rate of alternative fuel (AF) substitution in the plant’s kilns, with an AF fuel store expansion in early 2020 set to raise AF usage to 80% from 60%.

Pakistan: The end of 2019 has seen a flurry of 13 proposals for the construction of new plants and one proposed upgrade submitted to different government departments across Pakistan’s five Punjabi districts. The Balochistan Times has reported that Punjab Minister for Trade and Industries Mian Aslam Iqbal stressed the need for cement companies to provide plans for minimal water use in order to receive clearance.