Global Cement News

Ethiopia: Dangote Cement will invest US$400m to restart the second production line at its Mugher cement plant, doubling the capacity to 5Mt/yr. The plant became operational in 2015, but has since faced challenges, including recurrent violence in the region, according to Bloomberg.

Aliko Dangote said that the expansion project is expected to be operational ‘within the next 30 months’.

Spain: Molins and Enagás have formalised an agreement to promote their Mosusol netCO₂ carbon capture and storage (CCS) project for EU Innovation Fund backing. The project will capture 1Mt/yr of CO₂ at Molins’ cement plant in Sant Vicenç dels Horts, near Barcelona, to be transported by Enagás for storage. The project will cost an estimated €590m.

Molins CEO Marcos Cela said "The Mosusol netCO₂ Project is an example of our firm commitment to the decarbonisation of the construction sector. Our goal is to achieve carbon neutrality at our Sant Vicenç dels Horts plant by 2031."

India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned 0.6Mt/yr of new cement grinding capacity at its Karur grinding plant in Tamil Nadu. The expansion follows the commissioning of a 2.7Mt/yr greenfield grinding unit at the site in April 2024. The plant's total capacity is now 3.3Mt/yr. The additional capacity will reportedly help UltraTech to meet the rising demand for composite cement in South India and improve its blended cement ratio.

The producer's domestic grey cement capacity now stands at 167Mt/yr and its global capacity at 172Mt/yr.

Indonesia: The Ministry of Industry will introduce mandatory emissions limits for cement producers, as well as for those in the fertiliser, paper and steel industries. Companies will be encouraged to participate in carbon emissions trading.

Apit Pria Nugra, head of the Green Industry Centre at the Ministry, said that companies could receive compensation for emissions below the limit, but that they would need to purchase carbon credits from other companies if they exceed the limit.

The government will subsequently extend the emissions trading scheme to five additional sectors.

China: China Resources Building Materials Technology expects its full-year profit to have dropped by 62 – 72% year-on-year in 2024, Reuters has reported. This would correspond to a gross profit of US$579 – 786m, compared to US$2.07bn in 2023. The producer attributed the anticipated decline to ‘lower gross margins’ in its various businesses.