Medhat Stefanos, head of the cement production division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) said that liberalising the exchange rate increased the exports of cement to one million tonnes in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017.

Stefanos added that cement plants aim to increase their production capacity to 84 million tonnes by 2020.

He expected that production capacity by the end of the year reaches 60 million tonnes.

At a press conference held by the division, Stephanos pointed out that the cement industry can export 10 million tonnes and aims to reach 30 million tonnes annually.

“There were no cement exports since 2009 until 2016 due to the consumption of 95% of production in the domestic market and cement exports during Q1 2017 are only 1 million tonnes, ” Stefanos said. “The exports of Q1 2017 went to Libya and Yemen, and the division seeks to participate in the reconstruction of Syria immediately after the end of political tensions.”

He pointed out that the cost of quarrying fees rose by 16% after the flotation of the pound.

Stefanos noted that the cement industry is innocent of the high prices of housing units and that cement only accounts for 3% of total construction costs.