Jose Maria Magrina, CEO of Suez Cement (HeidelbergCement), has called for the government to set out a plan to rationalise the Egyptian cement market.

"There is a large surplus in the market in the last four years," added Mr Magrina. "Therefore, there is a lot of excess supply and very eager manufacturers who want to sell, no matter the cost and environment that demand cannot match the higher costs, so everybody is competing against each other for a much smaller market."

Mr Magrina believes government intervention is the only way to relieve the paralysis in the market. "The government must, within the law, dictate norms that will rationalise the market, while making sure that companies survive since current prices do not cover the costs of production," he concluded.