Giga-projects Power Surge in Saudi Arabia's Q1 Cement Sales
Construction boom tied to Vision 2030 drives up local sales by 6.4% and exports to 408,000 tonnes.
Cement sales in Saudi Arabia rose by 6.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, reaching a total of 13.4 million tonnes, as a result of an increase in construction activities linked to Vision 2030 megaprojects.
According to data from Al Yamama Cement covering the Kingdom's 17 producers, local sales accounted for nearly 13 million tonnes, while exports amounted to 408,000 tonnes.
Al Yamama Cement led the domestic market with 1.68 million tonnes, followed by Saudi Cement at 1.33 million tonnes and Qassim Cement with 1.25 million tonnes.
The construction surge in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest in its history, is a pillar of the Vision 2030 diversification plan.
A recent Bloomberg report valued the current real estate and infrastructure schemes at approximately $1.3 trillion.
These projects include Riyadh's driverless metro grid and entertainment hubs such as Qiddiya, as well as new cities like NEOM on the Red Sea coast and New Murabba in the capital's northwest.
The increase in cement sales can be attributed to major project packages entering the concrete-intensive vertical-build phase.
According to Gulf Construction, a trade journal for the building and construction industries, tower cores, bridge piers, and precast facades consume significantly more cement and clinker than earlier earthworks.
While higher volumes of cement sales did not translate into across-the-board gains, some producers saw improvements in their earnings.
Yamama Cement posted about SR142 million in earnings - up 23 percent - while Saudi Cement slipped nearly 5 percent to SR108 million.
Producers faced an added challenge from Saudi Aramco's fuel price revision, which raised kiln fuel costs by around 10 percent.
Inventory cushions remain thick, allowing firms to throttle kilns if margins tighten.
Modern kilns have been found to significantly reduce fuel consumption and lower production costs compared to older designs.
The efficiency drive extends to the Red Sea coast, where Yanbu Cement's waste-heat-recovery system already supplies about a quarter of the plant's electricity.
With Saudi Aramco's January fuel-tariff hike expected to raise kiln-energy bills by around 10 percent, plants that already sip less fuel will feel the pinch far less - reinforcing the Kingdom's competitive position in nearby markets.
According to data from Al Yamama Cement covering the Kingdom's 17 producers, local sales accounted for nearly 13 million tonnes, while exports amounted to 408,000 tonnes.
Al Yamama Cement led the domestic market with 1.68 million tonnes, followed by Saudi Cement at 1.33 million tonnes and Qassim Cement with 1.25 million tonnes.
The construction surge in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest in its history, is a pillar of the Vision 2030 diversification plan.
A recent Bloomberg report valued the current real estate and infrastructure schemes at approximately $1.3 trillion.
These projects include Riyadh's driverless metro grid and entertainment hubs such as Qiddiya, as well as new cities like NEOM on the Red Sea coast and New Murabba in the capital's northwest.
The increase in cement sales can be attributed to major project packages entering the concrete-intensive vertical-build phase.
According to Gulf Construction, a trade journal for the building and construction industries, tower cores, bridge piers, and precast facades consume significantly more cement and clinker than earlier earthworks.
While higher volumes of cement sales did not translate into across-the-board gains, some producers saw improvements in their earnings.
Yamama Cement posted about SR142 million in earnings - up 23 percent - while Saudi Cement slipped nearly 5 percent to SR108 million.
Producers faced an added challenge from Saudi Aramco's fuel price revision, which raised kiln fuel costs by around 10 percent.
Inventory cushions remain thick, allowing firms to throttle kilns if margins tighten.
Modern kilns have been found to significantly reduce fuel consumption and lower production costs compared to older designs.
The efficiency drive extends to the Red Sea coast, where Yanbu Cement's waste-heat-recovery system already supplies about a quarter of the plant's electricity.
With Saudi Aramco's January fuel-tariff hike expected to raise kiln-energy bills by around 10 percent, plants that already sip less fuel will feel the pinch far less - reinforcing the Kingdom's competitive position in nearby markets.
