Saudi Cement Company has announced that a pair of kilns (4 & 5) at its factory in Hofuf, which are currently being upgraded with a view to being reopened during the current quarter, will not now open until the third quarter of next year.
The kilns are being refurbished following a directive issued by the Kingdom s ruler, King Abduallah, earlier this year to boost cement supplies across Saudi Arabia to build capacity so that many of the mega-projects underway have adequate supplies.
However, Saudi Cement said the opening of the two kilns, which will produce up to 3,000 tons of clinker per day, had been delayed for "technical reasons".
Following the issue of the directive by King Abdullah in April this year, Saudi Press Agency reported that around $800m (SR3bn) had been set aside to build up to four new cement factories, which will have a production capacity of up to 12m tons a year.
