Pakistan: The Punjab government has decided to amend the Local Government Act 2022 to remove discrepancies and has called for proposals from all relevant departments. It aims to ensure that all necessary clearances are obtained before approving the establishment of new cement plants, according to Pakistan Official News. Due to water shortages, expansions or new establishments of cement plants must undergo a feasibility study. Committee members will personally inspect sites for the approval of these plants and the Irrigation Department will pursue legal action against any cement plants exceeding prescribed water usage limits.

Pakistan: Attock Cement has announced the successful completion of a new production line at its cement plant in Hub, Baluchistan. This additional line is capable of producing 1.28Mt/yr of cement and commenced operation on 16 April 2024.

Cyprus/Canada: Eureka Shipping has announced the construction of a new cement carrier for operation in the Great Lakes, designed to replace two older vessels whilst maintaining the same cargo capacity. The vessel will discharge cargo at rates of up to 1000t/hr.

The carrier is currently under construction by the Holland Shipyard Group in the Netherlands and is scheduled for delivery in 2025. Until then, the MV Sunnanvik will service its trade routes in the region from April 2024.

UK: First Graphene has announced a third trial at Breedon Group’s Hope Cement Works to test an optimised formulation of its PureGRAPH-CEM product under full-scale production conditions. The trial aims to further improve the performance of graphene nanoplatelets in cement production using practical experiences obtained from the previous two trials. The third trial is based on a PureGRAPH grade with a particle size distribution and morphology optimised for use in cement grinding mills, designed for direct addition to the mill without the need for additional equipment. The trial will last eight hours and involves close monitoring of cement fineness during the process. It will use just over 2t of the graphene product in up to 1000t of cement, according to the company. The trial is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2024.