Cementir is acquiring the Elazig cement works in eastern Anatolia from the Turkish army pension fund Oyak for US$110m. Assuming clearance by the Turkish competition authorities, this deal will bring the number of cement works owned by Cementir’s Turkish subsidiary Cimentas to four and the production capacity to around five million tonnes. Previously controlled by the Oyak-Gama joint venture Altinova-Elazig Çimento, the plant is now reported to have an annual capacity of 0.9m tonnes, though the latest edition of The Global Cement Report still gave the capacity as 0.5m tonnes. Turnover in 2005 amounted to US$52m and the EBITDA was US$21.5m, with the number of staff employed being some 200. Oyak is one of the top two cement producers in Turkey, but this disposal naturally raises questions over Oyak’s long term commitment to the cement industry.