Yemen intends to increase cement production by a massive 300 per cent in the next three years, a move that will at last allow it to keep pace with internal demand. Yemen Trade and Industry Minister Khaled Rajeh Sheikh said that projected cement production will total of 5.5Mt in 2007 up from 1.541Mt in 2003.
Sheikh said that the increase would enable Yemen to cover the local market needs of cement which are forecast to exceed 4Mt in 2007.
The country’s three government-owned cement works do not currently produce sufficient quantities to meet domestic demand, but Sheikh added that two cement factories will be established with a capacity of 2.2Mt.
Yemen’s Public Corporation For Manufacturing and Marketing Cement recently signed a number of agreements with British and Romanian companies to expand
production facilities at the country’s Bajil cement factory which currently has a production capacity of around 300,000t.
Private sector companies have for some time been seeking to set up their own cement works, particularly in Hadhramaut and Abyan, where there is an
abundance of gypsum, to fill the supply gap. In the wake of Yemen’s recent moves to liberalize and diversify its economy, Yemeni and Saudi businessmen have recently signed agreements for establishing two cement factories in Hadhramot and Abyan provinces.
