2024-01-21T09:18:14+00:00
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/ CNBC reported on Sunday that Iraq’s inclusion of hundreds of projects annually and the expansion of investment by more than 3% has increased demand for construction materials, primarily cement, by about 25 million tons annually, which has stimulated the private sector to meet the need through new investments.
The report added that last year 2023 witnessed the production of 34 million tons, which secures 65% of the demand, explaining that Al-Muthanna Governorate, southwest of Iraq, is leading this activity with four factories that produce 21,000 tons per day, while four others are preparing for production.
He pointed out that the increasing demand in western and southern Iraq has prompted previously constructed cement factories to add new production lines of between 2,000 and 3,000 tons per day, benefiting from government decisions to reduce fuel prices by about 40% in addition to preventing the entry of imported cement.
The report also pointed out the presence of millions of tons of limestone as a raw material for cement manufacturing in the Muthanna desert areas, which attracted investment companies to build their factories with Pakistani and Chinese companies, taking advantage of the ease of extraction and the reduction of transportation costs compared to investment in the mountainous areas of northern Iraq, in addition to the presence of a promising market that guarantees marketing between 1200-5000 tons per day for each factory.
He stated that the administrative and legal facilities in the province pave the way for the entry of new investments that could transform it into the cement capital of Iraq and raise annual production rates to 20 million tons, or approximately 50 percent of the design capacity of the country’s total factories, which amount to 18 government factories that provide 35 percent, and 10 private factories that produce ordinary and resistant cement and other types of newly produced cement.