Sunday, Feb 22, 2009
BEIRUT (Zawya Dow Jones)--Egypt is set to raise cement production by 200,000 tons during 2009, Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said Sunday.
The increase is set to cover the rise in local demand for cement, Rachid said in an emailed statement.
Two new cement factories have come on-stream during the past two months with two more expected to start production this year, he added.
The ministry of trade and industry granted 14 new licenses to cement manufacturers during the past year, according to the statement.
New measures to control escalating prices of cement in the local market came into effect Thursday stipulating that all producers specify the final selling price to consumers and print it on cement bags.
Egypt witnessed an investment boom in its cement industry in October 2007 when it sold eight cement production licenses worth 17 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.1 billion) in an auction.
The new licenses were expected to increase the country's production capacity to around 56 million tons a year, from 37 million tons a year in 2006.
-By Maha El Dahan, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires, +20122267850, mahaeldahan@yahoo.com
Copyright (c) 2009 ABQ Zawya Ltd.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
22-02-09 0932GMT
