Nigeria: The Edo State government signed an agreement with a Chinese firm on 27 April 2026 to build a 10Mt/yr cement plant, according to local press. State Commissioner for Information and Strategy Kasim Afegbua stated in a press conference in Benin City that groundwork on the project will begin by the mid-May 2026.

“By the middle of next month, the first step towards realising the dream of producing 10Mt/yr of cement will commence. We are hopeful that even the commencement of the project alone will generate employment and help tackle social vices,” he said.

Spain: Cement consumption in Spain reached 3.89Mt in the first quarter of 2026, rising by 9% year-on-year, according to the latest data from Oficemen. Consumption in March 2026 reached 1.54Mt, up by 28% year-on-year, and rolling annual consumption from April 2025 to March 2026 reached 17Mt, up by 12%. The country previously saw declines in January and February 2026 due to heavy rain. The association said that March 2026 was its best month for cement consumption in the past 15 years.

Exports fell by 15% to 0.88Mt in the first quarter of 2026, by 18% to 0.36Mt in March 2026, and rolling annual exports were down by 12% to 4.33Mt.

Philippines: Solid Cement, a subsidiary of Concreat Holdings Philippines, has secured a loan facility of up to US$82.9m from BDO Unibank. The company said that the funds will support capital expenditure and general corporate purposes as it increases production. A new production line at its Rizal plant began operations in April 2025, increasing total capacity to 7.2Mt/yr from 5.7Mt/yr.

UK: Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has warned that its raw materials suppliers are raising prices due to the ongoing war in Iran. During an update call accompanying the release of a trading statement, the company said that it was seeing increasing requests for price increases and surcharges. However, it added that it had “negotiated strongly on contracts for this year with some success.” In a trading statement it said that “build cost inflation is now expected to be low to mid single digit for 2026.” The company’s key raw materials include bricks, cement, concrete, timber and roof tiles.

The company has also warned in its annual reports since 2021 of the risk that carbon pricing may have upon the price of some its raw materials, including cement and steel. In the medium term, there are plans to include these costs in land valuations and/or pass them onto customers via raised house prices.

Taylor Wimpey’s revenue grew by 13% year-on-year to €4.44bn in 2025 from €3.93bn in 2024. Its profit before exceptional items fell by 5% to €326m from €343m. However, high cladding fire safety costs reduced its overall profit considerably.