Liberia: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced a US$21.1m financing package for Fouta Cement, Liberia's second-largest cement supplier. The IFC said the move is to help increase local manufacturing and infrastructure development in Liberia and reduce the country's reliance on imported construction materials.
The financing package will help Fouta Cement to build and operate a 0.35Mt/yr clinker grinding plant in Monrovia, the Liberian capital. The financing package consists of a loan of up to US$5.4m from IFC's own account, a US$10.8m loan from the International Development Association's Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility (IDA PSW BFF), and a loan of up to US$5m to be mobilised from Bank of Africa United Kingdom.

“IFC's partnership with Fouta Cement comes at a critical time for Liberia as it recovers from the economic effects of Covid-19 and seeks to meet the longstanding infrastructure needs of the country,” said Sérgio Pimenta, IFC's Vice President for Africa. “The investment is also IFC's largest in Liberia in recent years and is a strong show of support for the country's private sector and growth.”

France: Holcim France has announced its successful industrial-scale production of the world's first 100% recycled clinker. The La Tribune newspaper has reported that the company's Altkirch, Alsace, cement plant produced the clinker. Holcim France chief executive officer Francois Petry said that the plant's team collaborated with researchers at the Holcim Innovation Center to develop a recipe that incorporated multiple waste streams, including mineral wastes and wood ash. The producer says that most of the waste materials were locally sourced.

Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan: Uzbekistan-based Bekabadcement, part of United Cement Group (UGC) Holding, has become a partner in a key project to build a 350km international transport corridor connecting Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, to be financed by the Asian Development Bank.

The company’s products are well known domestically for their use in the construction of major infrastructure facilities, such as the construction of transport corridors and modernisation of irrigation systems in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as the rebuilding of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Spain: Cemex España has received clearance from the Balearic Islands Environmental Commission (CMAIB) to import up to 10,000t/yr of granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) to Majorca. Ultima Hora Online News has reported that the producer will substitute some of the limestone used in the company's Lloseta plant's cement production with the material.

Waste management company Tirme previously handled the Lloseta cement plant's slag supply.