Colombia’s largest cement producer Cementos Argos invested US$15m in capacity increases in 2004, the company said in a statement.
Cementos Argos also constructed a port in Savannah, Georgia, USA, with a capacity of 800,000t, and acquired three ships with a capacity of 25,000t each and launched programmes for the improvement of electricity supply to its facilities.
The capacity of Cementos Argos’ ground vehicles increased to 700,000t in 2004. The company also started the construction of a cement technology centre.
Argos is also studying the investment possibility in the other countries where it operates including Venezuela, Haiti, Panama and the Dominican Republic.
In 2004, negative factors on Cementos Argos’ performance included the appreciation of Colombian peso against the US dollar, lower prices, and lower construction activity in Colombia, the company’s president, Jose Alberto Velez, said.
Velez added that for 2005, Cementos Argos’ expectations were positive, due to the recovery of the construction sector, the larch amount of public works projects, the Linea tunnel project and the road infrastructure development and maintenance programmes that cover 2500km of roads in Colombia.
