Sharaf Group Fujairah plant to proceed
Sharaf Group, one of UAE’s largest business conglomerates, is "reviewing" the list of projects that it will launch this year. According to Sharafuddin Sharaf, Vice-Chairman of Sharaf Group, the company may freeze some of its projects that are not economically feasible due to the current economic climate, reports Emirates Business.
However, most of the projects would continue, he said. "We are not stopping projects that are already in the pipeline." For one, Sharaf is continuing its cement projects despite forecast of cement surplus by next year. The group is currently building a Dh1 billion cement factory in Fujairah, which is slated to produce 2 million tonnes of cement per year.
Following the UAE’s supply shortage - which was aggravated by the construction frenzy in Dubai that began in 2003 - significant public and private investments were channelled into increasing cement production capacity.
The largest expansions included Union Cement Company Union Cement Company Loading... ’s tripling of production capacity to 4mta of clinker and 4.1mta of cement and Gulf Cement’s increase in clinker production capacity to 3.6mta from 1.3mta.
It is further expected that an additional 5.4mta will be added to the existing 24.75mta capacity augmenting production to 30.15mta.
The largest of these additions will take place at the greenfield production factory of National Cement in Abu Dhabi which will produce 2.5mta of which Holcim owns 25 per cent and at the 1.6mta newly-built factory owned by Cemex. Another 0.6mta of additional supply will join production capacity, from Star Cement Factory in Abu Dhabi in 2009, while 2010 will witness an addition of 4.5mta by Arkan Building Materials.
