Africa & The Middle East

Suez Cement Group of Companies helped to announce the winners of the Enactus Egypt Competition, which it supports as part of its CSR programme.

Domestic cement consumption in Morocco declined from almost 1.37 million t in June 2013 to 1.24 million t in June 2014.

Iran exported over 5.07 million t of cement and clinker in the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year.

The new plant, which will produce 1 million tpa of lime via eight kilns, is under construction in Oman’s Dhofar Governorate.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the new Cimaf Ciments de L’Afrique cement plant has taken place in Tema, Ghana.

Holcim has confirmed the merger with Lafarge does not mean it is planning a take-over of Bamburi Cement.

Shareholders of Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria have approved the merger of the company’s Nigerian and South African assets into Lafarge Africa Plc.

Infrastructure projects and real estate demand are driving cement consumption in Kenya. The National Bureau of Statistics is reporting an average monthly increase of more than 100 000 t y/y.

Local reports indicate that the Egyptian government has increased the price of gas for cement producers from US$6 to US$8 per million British Thermal Units (BTUs).

The new plant will help to meet the shortfall of cement in Ghana, caused by lack of raw materials, power outages and a depreciating currency.

Tarmac Middle East has signed an MoU with Etihad Rail for the distribution of its products from Al Futtaim Tarmac Quarry Product Company in Ras Al-Khaimah across the UAE and later to other GCC countries.

ARM Cement has published its new Cement Industry Report, which provides information on the East African economy and the region’s cement and construction sectors.

Paul Maxwell-Cook takes a look at the performance of the cement industry in the Middle East, where infrastructure projects are helping to drive demand.

A 1.5 million tpa grinding plant is scheduled to be brought online in August, according to local reports.

Paul-Maxwell Cook begins his annual overview of the global cement industry with a look at the African markets.