India: Udaipur Cement Works has increased its solar power generation capacity by 43% through the installation of a new 4.35MW solar power plant at its Udaipur cement plant in Rajasthan. The 1.4Mt/yr cement plant now has a total solar power capacity of 14.5MW. Udaipur Cement Works says that solar power generated at the plant will reduce it operations’ CO₂ footprint by 14,000t/yr.

Kenya: Affordable housing joint venture 14Trees and UK-based development finance company CDC Group have 3D printed a complex of 52 houses near Kilifi, Kilifi county. The development, called Mvule Gardens, uses an IFC-EDGE Advanced-certified sustainable design to support the ecological regeneration of its locale. Swtizerland-based Holcim, which holds a stake in 14Trees, supplied its TectorPrint ink for use in buildings’ walls to increase strength.

Holcim CEO Jan Jenisch said “We are excited to be building one of the world’s largest 3D-printed affordable housing projects in Kenya. With today’s rapid urbanisation, over 3bn people are expected to need affordable housing by 2030. This issue is most acute in Africa, with countries like Kenya already facing an estimated shortage of 2m houses. By deploying 3D printing, we can address this infrastructure gap at scale, to increase living standards for all.”

India: The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has certified the sustainability claims of Dalmia Cement’s portfolio of blended cements. The portfolio consists of composite cement, Portland pozzolan cement and Portland slag cement. The council employed a full-cycle assessment of the cements’ impacts.

Head of sales, marketing and logstics Sanjay Wali said “We see GreenPro’s accreditation as a milestone in our journey to becoming carbon-negative by 2040. This also reaffirms our blended cement products’ green supremacy, which is accelerating the global transition from a grey to green reality.”

Uzbekistan: China-based Anhui Conch has started building a 2.5Mt/yr cement plant in Akhangaran district in Tashkent. It will invest US$200m in the upcoming plant, of which it has already spent US$16.7m on imported equipment, according to the Podrobno news agency. The plant will occupy a 183ha site.