UAE cement maker Emirates Cement Factory, located in al-Ain, eastern UAE, plans to raise its production to about 4Mta from the current 950,000tpa, it was reported on June 14, 2004. Emirates Cement is at present conducting a study on the local market for building materials and plans to open a new facility with an annual production of between two and three million tonnes of cement, Emirates Cement general manager, Mohsen Hamad al-Marri, said. Emirates Cement was also one of the local manufacturers which signed the agreement with the UAE Contractors’ Association to lower cement prices in the country. The agreement provides for a decrease in the prices to between 11 dirhams ($2.99/2.5 euro) and 17 dirhams ($4.62/3.86 euro) a bag from some 25 UAE dirhams ($6.8/5.68 euro) a bag.