By Mourad Teyeb
Albawaba.com - Tunis
Three major cement producers are rushing to expand production capacity in response to a 16 percent increase in demand in Tunisia during the past year.
The dramatic surge in demand for cement was generated by the on-going construction boom and by a flurry of public works in the country.
Cement maker CAT has decided to invest 120 million dinars (1 USD = D1.15) in a new factory with a million-ton production capacity, while Enfidha is planning a 50 percent production increase and Cimenterie de Djebel Oust is aiming for a 60 percent increase.
The three privatized companies are owned by Colacem, Uniland (Spain) and CIMPOR (Portugal), respectively, and the expansion plans reflect foreign parent company interest in the growing local market (and the possibility of price liberalisation) as well as in the export prospects offered by the burgeoning Algerian and Libyan construction sectors
