Philippines: Cement manufacturers are ‘hopeful’ of a recovery in cement demand in 2026, with growth expected to be supported by government infrastructure projects, according to The Philippine Star. Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) president John Reinier Dizon said the group expects demand to improve, although signs of a rebound have not yet materialised.

Dizon said that cement demand fell by around 3% in the fourth quarter of 2025. He said that allegations of corruption prompted the government to suspend some infrastructure works and implement stricter project validation in the third quarter of 2025. CeMAP reportedly expects cement demand to grow in line with the country’s GDP growth, and that the government is targeting economic growth of 5-6% in 2026, after average growth of about 5% from January to September 2025, below its earlier target of 5.5-6.5%.

Egypt: Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel El-Wazir chaired the 37th meeting of the Ministerial Group for Industrial Development on 20 January 2026. During the meeting, the group reviewed and approved the Ministry of Industry’s plan to issue three new licences for cement plants, each with a single production line, alongside expansion projects for existing cement plants. The initiatives were endorsed in line with the government’s strategy to strengthen cement production capacity, meet domestic demand and ensure reasonable pricing. El-Wazir said that the new licences are intended to proactively address any potential increase in demand, particularly in connection with anticipated reconstruction activity in the Gaza Strip. He added that the licensed projects are expected to be completed and enter production within one year.

Canada: Quebec’s Ministry of the Environment has reportedly imposed fines totalling US$105,000 on Saint Marys Cement for air and water pollution breaches at its cement plant in Port-Daniel on the Gaspé Peninsula, according to newspaper Le Soleil. The violations relate to incidents recorded in 2020 and 2021. According to the ministry, checks carried out in February 2022 using company-supplied data found repeated breaches of permitted limits with respect to air and water pollution. Effluent from the plant’s sedimentation basin reportedly surpassed the authorised threshold of 30mg per litre of suspended matter on four occasions across the two years. In total, six instances were identified where monitored substances exceeded standards set out in the plant’s ministerial operating authorisation. Saint Marys Cement received a notice of non-compliance in March 2022. The notice required the company to take immediate corrective action to meet regulatory standards.

Similar shortcomings were also recorded in water-related data for the same period. In response to ongoing dust emission concerns, the ministry also issued a formal order in September 2022. Ghizlaine Behdaoui, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment, said "In order to ensure a rapid intervention in the face of the ongoing problem of dust emissions, in addition to criminal proceedings, the Ministry issued an order on 15 September 2022. We can confirm that since the issuance of the Minister's order until today [20 January 2026], according to the checks and inspections carried out, the company is complying with the requirements of the order."

Company spokesperson Justin Meloche said that the fines have been paid, and that the company has since invested more than US$65m to improve plant operations, including upgrades to inspection and maintenance practices and the implementation of corrective measures.

UK: Nuada and MLC have signed an agreement to deploy Nuada’s demonstration carbon capture unit at MLC’s Singleton Birch site in Melton Ross, North Lincolnshire. The project will assess next-generation carbon capture technology designed to address process emissions from lime production. Performance data from the demonstration will be used to inform the potential rollout of large-scale carbon capture solutions across MLC’s wider operations. Nuada says that its carbon capture system is intended for industrial sites where conventional CO₂ capture is often limited by high energy demand and integration challenges, offering lower energy consumption and a compact footprint suited to lime manufacturing.

“This demonstration at Singleton Birch builds on our relationship with MLC and is an important step towards commercially viable net zero lime production,” said Jose Casaban, co-CEO of Nuada. “Our collaboration with MLC shows how cutting-edge materials and engineering can support deep emissions reduction in one of the industrial sectors with the most untapped carbon capture potential.”