The first four months of FY17-18 have seen robust growth in Pakistani cement demand and as a result, the cement industry’s capacity utilisation rate has risen to over 93 per cent, the highest in the last two decades, according to industry specialists.

Cement demand in the North Zone remained high against expectations, reaching 3.148Mt in October and breaching for the first time the 3Mt mark. In October 2016, cement demand in the north reached 2.489Mt. In the Southern Zone, cement consumption increased from 0.519Mt in October 2016 to 0.631Mt one year later.