Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has started operation of a new production line at its Pecém grinding plant in Ceará. The US$38m upgrade brings the production capacity of the site to 1Mt/yr from 0.2Mt/yr previously. The project was suspended temporarily in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The producer also operates the integrated 2.2Mt/yr Sobral plant in Ceará and a terminal in Fortaleza. The production sites the company runs in the state are connected by railway and a further line has been extended to connect the terminal.

Botswana: Rachit Josh, the managing director of Matsiloje Portland Cement, says that the company hopes to restart production by the end of 2021. The cement producer is currently in talks with an investor to support the move by establishing a partnership, according to the Mmegi newspaper. Joshconfirmed that the company’s integrated cement plant is currently closed. The plant, which is owned by Nortex Textiles, closed in January 2018 due to competition from South African imports. When operational it produced around 30,000t/yr of cement.

Russia: SLK Cement is preparing to open a new terminal at its integrated plant in Korkino plant in Chelyabinsk Oblast. The unit will have a cement capacity of 250t/hr for despatch by railway and road. The subsidiary of Italy-based Buzzi Unicem has invested around US$3.4m in the project.

Zimbabwe: PPC Zimbabwe has received US$11.2m from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as part of a legacy debts repayment scheme. The debt accrued due toregulations blocking the repatriation of revenue outside the country due to foreign exchange shortages, according to the New Zimbabwe newspaper. The debts were assumed by the central bank between 2016 and early 2019. At the time PPC Zimbabwe was left with a legacy debt of US$21m to its parent company PPC in South Africa. PPC expects the remainder of the debt to be repaid by the end of 2022.