Venezuela to up cement production

Venezuela is striving to expand cement production capacities to meet the increasing demand for building, reported industry sources.

As part of that strategy, the Social Production Enterprise (EPS) Cement Cerro Azul -a subsidiary of the National Company of Basic Industries (Coniba)- will start production of 80,000 tonnes per month by the middle of 2007.

Rafael Lugo, manager of the enterprise, said the plant will be able to produce at full throttle by November 2008.

The factory is located north of Monagas State, in a zone where there are deposits of limestone.