Egypt may scrap cement licences on weak demand
Egypt’s Industrial Development Authority said on Wednesday interest in bidding for two cement production licences had been subdued ahead of this week’s deadline and the permits could end up being scrapped.
Amr Assal also said the authority he heads wanted to attract investment in textiles, food processing, chemicals and other industries as part of Egypt’s effort to double exports to 200 billion Egyptian pounds by 2013.
Egypt re-opened bidding for cement licences previously held by El Wadi Cement and North Sinai Cement after the firms had permits withdrawn in November over start-up delays and financing shortfalls. The bid deadline is Thursday.
"We see that interest for those locations doesn’t appear to be large for the time being," Assal said. "If by July 1 there are no real bids submitted, we will reconsider the licences." Published under Cement News
