Africa & The Middle East

Afghanistan has issued invitations for Indian companies to invest in mineral mining and cement manufacturing.

FLSmidth has been awarded a contract from Arabian Cement Company (ACC) for operation and maintenance of the second line at their cement plant near the city of Suez in Egypt.

Dr M Rahim Vaseghi, Vice-Chancellor of Research, Islamic Azad University, Iran, provides an update on the capacity of the cement industry in the Middle East and North Africa. This article is summarized from the November issue of WORLD CEMENT.

Cement demand in Nigeria has been forecast to increase by 45% this year, according to Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.

Oman’s Raysut Cement in a statement issued on 28 October said it will purchase UAE’s Pioneer Cement Industries.

Saudi Arabia’s cement sector is facing the road to recovery as a result of high public spending and improved economic conditions

Dangote Cement, Nigeria, has announced plans to increase its capacity by more than five times by 2015.

Lafarge Cement Syria has reportedly begun operations at its 3 million tpa plant 160 km northeast of Aleppo.

Ohorongo Cement and AfriSam Namibia are reportedly in talks to consolidate their businesses rather than enter into competition against each other.

The Messebo Cement plant in Ethiopia is currently in the process of introducing Portland limestone cement into the market, as its expansion project nears completion.

Nambia’s only cement company, Ohorongo Cement recently received its first consignment of coal from Mozambique.

According to reports, Al-Arabiya alWataniya has signed an EGP1.1 billion loan agreement to finance the construction of a new cement plant in Egypt.

Control of the Karbala Cement Plant in Iraq has officially been handed over to MerchantBridge under a 15-year lease agreement with the Government of Iraq, concluding five years of preparations.

Pretoria Portland Cement Company (PPC), South Africa, has reported that sales in South Africa and Botswana are still declining.

Nigeria's cement industry is witnessing a stand off between local producers and importers with the introduction of a 35% levy on bulk cement importation quotas.