The price of cement is to be fixed and violators will be fined, the committee commissioned to stabilise cement prices said.
A senior official from the UAE government-commissioned committee said its aim was to set a final price range for cement and to make cement factories adhere to this band for at least five to ten years.
The official said several construction companies had put many projects on hold because of the increase in the price of cement which meant projects were not being completed on time.
He said brokers had fuelled the problem, causing the country’s construction industry to lose billions of dirhams. Cement factories also raised their prices.
The official said the construction sector was set to slow down and many construction companies were about to declare bankruptcy.
He added that cement factories understood that construction companies were losing major projects and were willing to implement an official policy to protect all parties.
The committee includes representatives from cement companies and the construction companies.
The official added that when the price of cement started going out of control, the UAE authorities imposed a price band of Dh11.50 to Dh17 per packet, but this was ignored. He said although the first price scheme had failed, it had played a role in gaining a certain degree of control over the price of cement.
Cement factories kept to the agreed price but brokers and distributors tried to maximise their profits and this caused the scheme to fail.
The official said brokers and distributors would be closely monitored to ensure adherence to the new price scheme. He said the performance of all cement factories is to be studied and each factory will be asked to operate at maximum capacity to meet the demands of the UAE market.
