A new cement company, called Barbar Cement Company, was established in Sudan on December 28, 2004. The company’s shareholders include Saudi-based The Arab Investment Company (TAIC), the National Cement Company, a part of the UAE diversified group of companies al-Ghurair Group, the Sudanese High Tech Group and the local construction company Dan Fodio. The new company’s plant is expected to start building in the River Nile State in eastern Sudan in early January 2005. The plant is located between the cities of Barbar and Atbara and will have a daily production of 4000t, while its annual capacity should reach some 1.2Mt.