By: Rayam Mukhashaf

Edited into English by: Adnan Abdullah

SANA'A, Sep. (Saba)- An Egyptian consultations company has started to carry out a project of modernizing the General Corporation of Cement Marketing and Industry and its three factories in order to qualify the corporation to get ISO certificate.

Such move aims at developing performance of the government corporation to enable its three factories to meet growing needs of the local and foreign markets from cement material.

In his statement to Saba, Board Chairman of the corporation Mohamed Shanif said that the agreement with the Egyptian Price Water House company was signed June of this year at $ 350,000.

The project will last for 12 months.

Shanif pointed out to that the project would modernize all legal, technical, administrative and financial aspects in the corporation and factories to qualify the corporation to get the ISO certificate.

He added that the project would create an active system to achieve safe economic production and good quality as well as develop the human resources in the corporation and its factories.

Shanif said that the project would also enhance the team sprite among workers and utilize the available materials affectively.

The project also aims at motivating workers in the corporation based on job description, and encouraging creativity in addition to enhance competitive position of the corporation, he said.

He made it clear that the project would find out solutions for obstacles facing the development in the corporation and its factories within the current competition as many private cement factories were set up.

Moreover, Shanif said that the project would modernize bylaws to fit with new tasks, adding that the project would also create jobs and new marketing strategy as well as extending production lines of the factories to cover needs of the markets by giving a chance for private sector to have shares in the capital of the corporation.


He added that the project would also create a qualified management, which could deal with the crises affectively in order to minimize faults in selling mechanisms in the three factories.

It is worth mentioning that the corporation has run three government cement factories ; Bajal factory in Hodeidah province, Amran factory in Amran province and al-Barh factory in Taiz province.

There are other three private cement factories in the country which produce around 4 million tons yearly.

Yemeni-Saudi Cement Company is preparing to launch works in BaTis cementer factory in Abyan province in coming September as fourth factory owned by the private sector at sum of $ 250 million and at capacity of 1.6 million tons yearly.

Within the ongoing competition by private factories, Shanif said that the corporation has started to carry out many development projects in their factories since 2007 in cooperation with the ministry of industry and trade by extending the production lines.

He also pointed out that Chinese Asmak Company started in September of last year works in constructional project of modernizing Bajal cement factory at amount of$ 113 million.

The project aims at increasing production of the factory to 1.1 million tons yearly, Shanif said.

He pointed out that the project would contribute to cover needs of the local market and create 500 jobs opportunities.

Regarding to Amran factory, Shanif said that the factory's production line was extended to produce 1.5 million tons yearly since 2007.

He added that the corporation has plan to increase production of al Barh factory to be 1.5 million tons yearly


Asking about use of core instead of heating oil in the factories, Shanif said that the corporation signed also a second agreement with the Chinese company at sum of 16 million to set up a system of burning the rock coral to generate electricity in Bajal factory as first step to use the alternative energy sources with low cost.

He said that the move would reduce use of energy consumption at 30 percent and avoid problem of heating oil shortage and raise of its price in the market.

Soon the corporation would finalize a field study in several provinces of the country to know places of existing the rock coral in order to start use the system of burning the coral in Amran and al Barh factories in coming period, he added.

He said that sector of the cement industry in Yemen is promising sector as cement is available with huge quantity in different regions of the nation.

Shanif expected increase of the cement production in the country up to 8 million tons by next year within establishing other four private cement factories.