IFC is proposing a corporate loan of up to US$65m to Al Douh Cement Co, one of the leading producers of cement in Iraq, to finance the company’s planned expansion of its production capacity.
The project envisages the construction of a new production line of sulphates-resistant cement within the same site, with a capacity of 2Mta. The new line will be equipped with a kiln fuelled by natural gas and powered by a 50MW captive gas fired power plant, which will be built as part of the project.
Al Douh was established in 2008 to meet the high demand for locally produced cement in the South and Middle Euphrates regions of Iraq. The existing Al Douh cement plant is located approximately 40km southwest of the city of Al Samawa, in the southern Iraqi province of Muthanna and has a current capacity of 1.5Mta of sulphates-resistant cement. The plant was constructed and is operated by CNBM.
In addition to the production plant, the company has concessions for extraction of limestone, clay and gypsum from quarries that are located at approximately 4km, 25km and 15km, respectively, from the plant.
