India: The Supreme Court has dismissed a request by Rajputana Properties, a subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat, to review to decision to dismiss a plea challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) order allowing UltraTech Cement to acquire Binani Cement, according to the Financial Express newspaper. UltraTech Cement declared that Binani Cement was its subsidiary in November 2018 following a protracted legal battle with Dalmia Bharat. It changed its name to UltraTech Nathdwara Cement in December 2018.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa’s Nigerian operations have won the inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards of LafargeHolcim for the Middle East and Africa. The country won the overall award after beating 35 other countries in two of the four award categories, according to the Vanguard newspaper. It won gold for its CSR initiatives in the Education and Employment category ahead of Egypt (silver) and Kenya (bronze). Nigeria also won gold in the Shelter and Infrastructure category ahead of Morocco (silver) and Cote d’Ivoire (bronze).

Lafarge Africa runs its ‘Easy Home’ initiative in Nigeria, to help individuals build decent houses on a low budget. In 2016 over 30,000 people benefited from the initiative. In 2017, Lafarge Africa created the Cement Professionals Training Program, to help young people in the fields of technology, engineering, cement manufacturing, instrumentation and automation. The company made investments in social investment programs and initiatives in 2017 in its host communities across the country, directly impacting more than 450,000 beneficiaries. Lafarge Africa also complements the local government’s efforts to improve primary school education through the Lafarge Africa National Literacy Competition.

Nigeria: The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) has successfully merged with Kalambaina Cement. Abdul Samad Rabiu, the chairman of CCNN, said that the merger would boost efficiency, productivity, output and the financial returns of the company, according to the Eagle newspaper. The merger plans were publicly announced in mid-2018.

Tunisia: United Cement Investor will start building a new 1.5Mt/yr cement plant at Bir Thlathin in southern Tataouine in March 2019. The project has a cost of around US$320m, according to the Agency Tunis Afrique Press. Local investment will total around US$95m. The project is expected to create 419 direct jobs and 600 indirect jobs.

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (France) has been involved with the project. Investment is coming from local, UAE-based and German financiers.