Cameroon: The Chinese-based Afcham China National Consortium Material Company has signed a memorandum with the Kribi Industrial Cement Plant Company (CmIKri) for the construction of an integrated cement plant with a capacity of over 0.5Mt/yr, and the possibility of an extension to 1.5Mt/yr, in the port of Kribi. The installation, spanning 30ha, will include shipping facilities and an 18,000t clinker silo, and cost US$60m.

Nigeria: Obu Cement and Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), both subsidiaries of BUA Group, are set to merge. Abdul Samad Rabiu, founder and executive chairman of BUA Group, said that the merger ‘marks the culmination of the first phase of the BUA mid-term strategic plan,’ which aims at deepening the domestic cement market and enhancing industry growth.

Rabiu stated that the completion of the 3Mt/yr integrated Sokota Kalambaina II cement plant and a 48MW power station, construction of which began in 2018, has been scheduled for the second half of 2020. In addition to its four existing plants, this will bring the group’s total integrated cement production capacity to 11Mt/yr.

Spain: Cementos Molins’ nine-month income rose by 8.0% year-on-year to Euro594m from Euro550m in the corresponding period of 2018. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6.3%. Its South American subsidiaries’ sales and EBITDA outstripped those in other regions. The company’s consolidated net profit for the period rose by 9.7% to Euro70.2m from Euro64.0m in 2018.

Russia: 577 Gornozavodskcement employees became unemployed in the six months to 30 June 2019. 87 resigned, 195 retired and 295 left by agreement with the company. This follows South Ural Mining and Processing’s takeover of the struggling cement producer in December 2018. Kommersant has reported that the liquidation of auxiliary departments is a part of unit optimisation which extends to the company’s facilities, with the site of a planned dry line at its 2.2Mt/yr (wet) integrated Perm cement plant being used for parking. Wages have reportedly risen for the remaining three quarters of the Gornozavodskcement’s original staff.