Alkhalij to double its cement capacity

Part of Qatari Investors Group, Alkhalij Cement Company will invest around US$800m in its second production line, which is scheduled to come on-stream in 1Q16. The new capacity will be built to maintain market share and meet the expected rise in cement demand, which has been boosted by major construction and infrastructure projects.

Firas Tayssir Ibrahim, chief administration officer of Qatari Investors Group, said: "The unprecedented growth in Qatar's construction remains as the primary motive of all companies to place more efforts in improving their products and services to meet the terms of this growth and support it with emphasis on quality and effectiveness factors.

"This has prompted Alkhalij Cement Company to increase its production capacity to cope with the increasing market demands. While the production of clinker will reach around 2Mt and cement around 3Mt by the end of 2015, our projections show that in 2016 and when our new line is operational, we will need to produce close to 4Mt of clinker and 4.5Mt of cement," Escalera explained.