A US$200m cement factory, built by an Iranian engineering company in Syrian province of Hama will be operational in June 2007. Deputy Minister of Industry in Economic and International Affairs Mohsen Shaterzadeh, who is visiting Syria, announced the news while inspecting the project. Syrian Deputy Minister of Industry Muhammad Somaq accompanied his Iranian counterpart in visiting the cement factory in Hama. The project, which is located in Hama province, 160 kilometers from Damascus started in 2003.