Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement recorded rising revenues in the first quarter of 2022 due to stronger cement volumes and higher prices during the period. The manufacturer posted sales revenue of US$14m in the three months to 31 March 2022, up by 29.6% year-on-year from US$10.8m in the first quarter of 2021.

Sales volumes rose by 6% to 281,968t from 266,007t, while average prices for delivered cement also climbed. Exports from Kazakhstan fell by 50% as new factories opened in Uzbekistan. Imports into Kazakhstan, predominantly from Russia, increased from 6.5% to 8% of the market.

Steppe Cement estimates that Kazakhstan's cement market demand will stay at 11 - 12Mt in 2022 but added that there was is a high degree of uncertainty due to the ‘geopolitical situation’ in the region.

India: Shree Digvijay Cement has executed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 27% stake in a hybrid wind and solar power project from Trinethra Renewable Energy, a power producer, and Continuum Green Energy. It will spend US$1m on the deal, implying a value of US$0.13m/MW. The total installed capacity of the project is 8.1MW.

The hybrid power contract will generate about 37% of total power needed by the plant. When combined with the plant’s waste heat recovery (WHR) system, it will constitute over 65% of the total power needs of the company, representing considerable savings in the cost of power and an improved environment footprint.

India: HeidelbergCement India has commissioned a 5.5MW solar power plant in its mining area located in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh. The mining operations and clinker plant at Damoh have started receiving electricity from the plant. The solar plant is expected to generate 10GWh/yr, replacing electricity purchased from the grid.

Pakistan: Meezan Bank, an Islamic bank, and Burj Solar Energy (BSE) have announced the completion of a US$5m syndicated Islamic finance facility for BSE's portfolio of renewable distributed power generation in Pakistan.

A first tranche of US$3.2m will be used to finance the construction of a 7MW solar power plant for Power Cement on the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway. The solar power plant will be rented to Power Cement under a 20-year equipment rental agreement to supply the company's cement plant in Nooriabad. It will generate 220GWh solar units for 20 years and, in addition to reducing cost of electricity, will offset 112,000t of CO₂ emissions. The project is expected to start generating power in July 2022.