Italy's Italcementi Group, the world's fifth largest cement producer, reaffirmed its confidence in the Egyptian market despite political and economic instability, expressing trust in the country's future, said Chief Operating Officer Giovanni Ferrario Thursday. Ferrario made the statement during a ceremony in Egypt's Smart Village to mark Italcementi Group's 150th anniversary and celebrate 10 years of operation in the country. The group's Suez Cement Group of Companies (SCGC) also launched, at the event, a new branding system for their products called "i.nova". By grouping each type of cement and concrete according to its usage, the "i-nova" system helps customers to select products for construction projects, said Bruno Carre, CEO of Suez Cement. During the ceremony, Carre said that despite the recent turmoil in Egypt, the company has continued to invest and develop their plants. "Our 10 years in Egypt represent a great achievement, during which we have been bringing our facilities and our products up to international standards," he said. SCGC, which employs more than 3,000 people, initiated in February a €5m waste-treatment plant that will turn pre-stored waste to fuel. According to the company, the new facility is the first in Egypt. Natural gas shortages are one of the greatest challenges to Suez Cement's operation in Egypt, Carré told Daily News Egypt in November. As a result of inadequate fuel supplies, Medhat Stephanos, head of the cement industry at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, reported last week that cement production has been cut in half in recent months. The Ministry of Petroleum, however, has contested the assertion that declining cement production was linked to fuel shortages. It supplied cement factories with 65% of the contracted quantities of natural gas in January and February and fulfilled remaining energy needs with diesel, it reported in a 10 March statement. Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb on 9 March met with Stephanos and the ministers of industry, petroleum, electricity and environmental affairs to discuss solutions.
