Following its first export shipment of cement to Gambia in December 2017, LafargeHolcim Algérie plans to export 5Mt of cement to west Africa by 2020, according to Serge Dubois, the company’s communications director.

Exporting "cannot be done without the mobilisation of public authorities,” Mr Dubois said. “The State is speeding up the signing of the association agreements with the ECOWAS countries, and it is the only market available and within reach of the Algeria, especially as that of the Mediterranean is in overcapacity,” he added.

LafargeHolcim Algérie intends to build its export capacity gradually as at present suitable port infrastructure is not available and the company’s plants are some distance away from the ports. This leads to additional logistics costs, as is the case at the port of Oran, where LafargeHolcim is installing a reloading station and a railway connection to the CILAS plant in Biskra.