Growing demand sees rise in new Romanian plant projects

Growing demand sees rise in new Romanian plant projects
22 September 2008


The boom in Romania’s construction market in recent years has led to a significant growth in demand for cement, amid a shortage for housing, office space and commercial areas, local daily Business Standard reported on Friday.

Last year, existing cement production units almost reached their maximum capacity. To cope with the demand, producers announced investments worth hundreds of millions of euros to expand production capacities or build new factories.

Austrian Strabag group, one of the top players in Europe’s construction market, has advanced ongoing talks to buy a plot of land in the town of Anina, in western Caras Severin County, to build a new cement factory, with a EUR250m (US$335m) investment.

Another significant player, Holcim, which has been operating in Romania since 1997, plans to build its fourth production unit locally in northern Cluj County.

The investment is estimated at over EUR400m. However, a final decision is yet to be made, depending on the evolution of the cement market, Holcim Romania representatives told Business Standard.

Besides, nine cement factories currently operating in Romania were acquired by subsidiaries of multinational Lafarge, Holcim, and HeidelbergCement producers.

Since 2004, the cement market in Romania has increased by an average 15 per cent annually to reach 11Mt in 2008, statistics showed.
Published under Cement News