Africa & The Middle East

The Nigerian conglomerate Dangote is investing R779 million in Sephaku Cement, in South Africa.

Tanzania’s president, Jakaya Kikwete has challenged the country’s cement producers to continue to increase their production capacities.

FLSmidth has signed a contract worth €32.1 million (approximately DKK239 million) with Administración Nacional De Combustibles, Alcohol y Portland (ANCAP), a state-owned Uruguayan company. This follows two Tunisian contracts announced on 21st May.

The Portuguese group SLNI is to build a cement plant in Angola.

A joint venture between leading regional producer ASEC Cement and Egypt’s Misr Qena Cement will cater to the under-served Upper Egyptian building and infrastructure markets.

The captive 42 MW Berber plant marks major milestone for TAQA Arabia’s power generation business while powering Sudan’s most technologically advanced and environmentally friendly cement producer.

MerchantBridge, a direct investment and private equity company focused on the Middle East, is investing in debt and equity in Iraq.

HeidelbergCement and the IFC have signed an agreement to increase the local supply of cement in sub-Saharan Africa.

In South Africa today, China’s Jidong Development Group and the China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund) have signed an MoU with Women Investment Portfolio Holdings (Wiphold) and Continental Cement (Conticem), a limestone mining firm. The MoU relates to the construction of a R1.65 billion cement plant to be located 85 km north of Brits in Limpopo.

Lafarge has launched a US$ 200 million project to renovate an Iraqi cement plan.

Egypt’s Alexandria Cement has received the go-ahead for a US$ 442 million rights issue.

Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe is to receive a US$ 3 million injection of capital from the Lafarge Group for recapitalisation of its operations to improve efficiency.

Gulf Cement Company, Qatar, is looking to increase its production capacity to 12 000 tpd, as a second production line is due to come online in 2011.

In a few weeks Habesha Cement will announce who has won the the contract to supervise the construction of Habesha’s new 1.2 million tpa cement plant in Eithiopia.

Possible health tax on cement companies, and Egypt set to reissue two licences.