Armenia: Businessman Narek Nalbandyan has acquired the Hrazdan cement plant, which has been idle for years, according to PanArmenian news.

“A new stage of development is beginning for the plant. A large-scale investment programme is planned to be launched as soon as possible. Under the program, the plant's equipment will be modernised, its production capacity will be restored and new jobs will be created,” Nalbandyan said.

The plant is considered one of Armenia's two major cement plants. It has changed owners several times over the past 20 years, according to local press. Most recently, in late 2017, it was acquired by Hrazdan Cement, but bankruptcy proceedings involving the company began in 2022.

Morocco: Cement deliveries to Morocco reached 1.3Mt in August 2026, a decrease of 3.5% year-on-year from 1.35Mt in August 2025, according to data from members of the Professional Association of Cement Manufacturers (APC). Over the first eight months of the year, the decline was more limited, with a cumulative decrease of 1%. This trend is mainly due to the decline in deliveries to the construction sector, which fell by 37% year-on-year. However, deliveries for infrastructure projects increased by 20% in August 2026.

Over the first eight months of 2026, cumulative deliveries amounted to 9.5Mt, compared to 9.6Mt at the end of August 2025, representing a decline of 1%.

Malaysia: The disruption to cement supplies currently affecting the market in Sabah is expected to be fully resolved by mid-September 2026. The shortage was reportedly caused by repair and maintenance works at the Cement Industries Sabah (CIS) cement plant in Teluk Sepangar, according to local press. CIS General Manager Sumardi Mohd Yusuf said that market recovery is progressing smoothly after all technical works at the facility had been fully completed on 4 September 2026. He added that ‘unforeseen logistical issues’ had also contributed to the supply disruption.

“The delayed arrival of vessels carrying clinker and bulk cement also contributed to the current disruption in market supply. The delays are caused by unfavourable weather conditions at the port of the plant supplying the materials,” the company said in a statement.

Sumardi said that proactive measures are being taken to increase production in the near term to meet domestic demand and that CIS has also drawn up short-term strategies to ensure the shortage did not persist and affect development projects, such as increasing the volume of clinker sourced from external suppliers to build up larger stockpiles.

France: Vicat and Derichebourg Environnement will launch a new project through their jointly owned company VALèreCO dedicated to the production and energy recovery of solid recovered fuel (SRF). Derichebourg Environnement’s subsidiary Purfer produces alternative fuels for Vicat’s Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant.

The project involves the construction of an SRF production unit in Pagny-sur-Meuse at a cost of nearly €7m. The facility will produce 34,000t/yr of SRF (40,000t/yr at full capacity) to supply Vicat’s Xeuilley cement plant, which produces low-carbon cement. The project will reportedly avoid 30,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions by replacing fossil fuels. Vicat said that the project supports the companies’ ambitions to accelerate industrial decarbonisation and transform non-recyclable waste into alternative energy resources that can replace fossil fuels. The SRF will be produced less than 50km from where it is consumed, reducing emissions from transportation.