Saudi cement producer Southern Province Cement (SPC) and Sinoma have signed a SAR552m (US$147m) contract to boost SPC’s production capacity, the Saudi firm said Saturday in a bourse filing.

The turnkey contract, to be executed over a period of 23 months, calls for setting up a second production line with a daily capacity of 5000t at SPC’s plant in Tuhama.

SPC operates three factories. These are in Jazan, Bisha and Tuhama. The company’s annual production capacity as at end-2008 was 5.57Mt of clinker and 5Mt of cement.

In late December 2009, SPC said that according to preliminary results its net profit for 2009 declined by 7.8% YoY to SAR 729m. The decrease in the bottom-line result was attributed to lower non-operating figures.