Exposed to the Sahara desert climate, a new cement plant has been taking shape some 40km north of Biskra, Algeria. In the hot arid summer with temperatures reaching 49.4˚C and an annual rainfall of less than 100mm, the construction of the Algeria Spa CILAS cement works presented its own challenges, but a flexible approach by main contractor CBMI contributed to the successful completion of the project. By Jinjun Gu and Yingying Zhang, CBMI Construction Co Ltd, China.
On 28 April 2014, Algeria Spa CILAS, a joint venture between Algeria’s Souakri Group and LafargeHolcim, awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a new 5000tpd greenfield cement plant near Biskra to China-based CBMI. The new works is expected to help alleviate the country’s current cement shortage.
