El Salvador: Cementos Fortaleza is establishing a new 0.3Mt/yr cement plant at Acajutla in Sonsonate Department. The Diario El Mundo newspaper has reported that the subsidiary of Grupo Regalado and Mexico-based Elementia plans to commission the plant in eatly 2023. The company will invest US$40m in its construction. The plant will produce its cement from 20% El Salvadorean-produced raw materials and will primarily serve local consumption, with the possibility of also exporting some cement.

Grupo Regalado representative Marcos Regalado Nottebohm said “It is challenging to invest in a project of such magnitude. This has been a natural step between two large business groups of great renown.”

US: New industrial nitrous oxide (NO_x) emissions limits under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s proposed Good Neighbour Plan will cost US$1.1bn by 2026, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. US Political and Economic Organizations News has reported that the association claims that the cost of implementing the regulations may harm US manufacturing and the country’s economy.

Nigeria: BUA Cement’s Sokoto cement plant has resumed operations following a fire that killed three workers. The Sun newspaper has reported that the fire began at a diesel storage tank depot near to the plant, where third-party contract workers were welding a diesel storage tank. The group said that it activated a swift response in order to prevent any escalation of the incident.

Tanzania: Dangote Cement has signed an agreement with the Tanzanian Ports Authority whereby it will ship cement from its Mtwara cement plant and raw materials for its Tanzanian operations via the Port of Mtwara. Ecofin Agency News has reported that the company previously used the road network for both materials. This had a negative impact on local roads and prevented it from exporting the Mtwara cement plant’s cement overseas.