Cement continues to be in short supply in Qatar hitting the construction industry. Nasser Al Mir, a member of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI), told Al Sharq yesterday that he had a word with the general manager of Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC), Mohamed Al Sulaiti, and he said that 12 shiploads of cement were expected to arrive here soon to take care of the shortage. Al Mir said that haphazard imports of cement were not going to resolve the problem of shortage. "The company should actually have a fixed schedule of imports," he said. According to Al Mir, most of the cement imports into Qatar were from the neighbouring Saudi Arabia and media reports have recently suggested that Saudi authorities are planning to stop exports to neighbouring GCC states due to local shortage of the material. "This is bad news for Qatar," commented Al Mir.