Qatar National Cement Company will increase its production capacity by 3000tpd by end of June to meet rising local demand, company officials were reported as saying here yesterday. The move takes Qatar National Cement’s total output capacity to 10,000tpd.

Salem Butti Al Nuaimi, chairman of the company, told reporters during his factory visit on Saturday that three new mills producing 3000tpd of cement, plus 1000tpd from the old unit, would raise the factory’s total production capacity to 10,000tpd.

According to the daily Peninsula, Al Nuaimi also said that his company is planning to build a fourth production line with a capacity of between 4000 and 5000tpd, without specifying a time frame for the project which is currently awaiting the necessary licenses to be finalised.

The company’s total cement sales from January to April last year amounted to 785,926t as compared to 1,104,380t during the corresponding period this year.

The Qatari daily said that Al Nuaimi denied recent claims of major technical problems at the factory that presumably triggered a shortage in the country, saying that delay in imports were to blame for the recent brief shortage. Qatar, which has several hundred towers and major residential developments including the Pearl Island and Lusail City under construction, has repeatedly suffered from cement shortages over the past two years.