Egypt's new-found energy
Following its successful navigation of turbulent social and political waters, the Egyptian cement industry has more recently had to face the challenge of overcoming gas shortages and a phase-out of power subsidies. Diversifying energy and power sources has now become a key priority as producers look to secure supplies, stabilise production and serve growing demand. By Shady Sharaf, Aboubakr Emam, CFA & Kamal El-Sheikh, Cairo Financial Holding, Egypt.
Arabian Cement Co converted its plant to run on coal instead of gas, giving the company
a significant operational advantage
The Egyptian economy was severely hit by the country’s revolution of 2011. The real GDP growth rate dropped from 5.1 per cent in FY09-10 to 1.9 per cent in FY10-11. However, the start of FY14-15 saw the economy get back on track and during the first nine months of the year a growth rate of 5.6 per cent was recorded.
