CAIRO: Suez Cement, one of Egypt s largest listed cement makers, plans to begin importing clinker and bagged cement to meet growing demand in the Egyptian market, the company said on Monday. Suez Cement, whose five plants are operating at full capacity, said in a statement it would import 25,000 tons of clinker from Croatia and Cyprus in July. A first shipment of 7,000 tons from Croatia was due to arrive on July 16. The company was also finalizing arrangements to import bagged cement to help satisfy market demand, it said. Local demand increased significantly. It increased 25 percent (in the first half of 2009) compared to the previous year. So since we are working at full capacity, we are not able to sustain the growing demand, media officer Zena Spinelli said. She said demand was expected to remain high ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, as builders work to finish major construction projects. Ramadan is due to start in the second half of August, and demand should taper off then, she said. Suez Cement said it had ramped up production by 7 percent in the first half of the year, and plants had exerted all efforts to sustain the level of production and satisfy the market needs . But the company said it was forced to briefly stop work at one mill at its Kattameya plant near Cairo on June 30 following an unexpected breakdown after the company repeatedly postponed a planned shutdown for maintenance to satisfy increased demand. The mill resumed work on July 11. Spinelli said the decision to import clinker, a main component in cement, was taken prior to the stoppage.
