The Algerian Minister for Industry and the Mines, Abdessalem Bouchouareb, claims the country will be self-sufficient in cement by the end of 2016.
The country’s cement consumption is now 22 million tonnes, and a number of projects will see the production of an extra 4 million tonnes of cement, which will remove the need for imports.
These include the commissioning of two new cement plants at Béchar run by Société Saoura ciment (SSC), a subsidiary of GICA (Groupe Industriel des Ciments d'Algérie, an Algerian state-owned cement producer), and the extension of that of Zahana (Mascara), which will be operated by Société des ciments de Zahana (Sciz).
GICA has signed agreements with CMBI of China to expand the Zahana cement plant and build a new cement factory in Bechar with 1 million tonnes/year capacity.
