New cement plant in Iraq and exports rise in Iran

Following the announcement last week that a consortium of ASEC Cement and Qemmet El-Iraq will rehabilitate and manage Iraq’s Muthanna Cement, owned by Southern Cement Company, comes news that a new plant is to be built in the Karbala province.

The new cement plant, which will be state owned, will require an investment of US$300 million and will be constructed by a joint Iraqi-Canadian venture. According to a statement, the project will create about 700 jobs in the province and will help meet the country’s cement demand. From design to completion, the project is expected to take less than 38 months. Its planned capacity is 5300 tpd.

Elsewhere in the region, it has been reported that Iran exported 8.064 million t of cement and clinker in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year. Cement exports totalled 6.52 million t over the period, while clinker exports totalled 1.53 million t. The total figure is up 43.5% y/y. Iran has plans to increase cement production to 85 million t by the close of the next calendar year, and is on track to export 12 million t of cement by the end of this calendar year. Iraq is one of Iran’s top export markets.

Edited from various sources by Katherine Guenioui