Oman Cement invites bids for major capacity expansion

MUSCAT: Oman Cement, a publicly listed cement manufacturer, says it has invited a number of engineering contractors to bid for its contract to expand the capacity of its Rusayl-based plant.

Oman Cement CEO Eng Salim al Hajri said in a filing to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) on Monday that the expansion includes the construction of a new production line (Line 4) with a capacity of 10,000 tons per day (TPD) of cement. Additionally, the existing Line 3 production facility is proposed to be upgraded to a capacity of 5,000 TPD of cement, up from the present 4,000 TPD capacity.

Last month, the CEO explained that the capacity increase is designed to meet domestic cement demand growth, reduce import dependence, and also add value to local resources.

Over the last 10 years, majority state-owned Oman Cement produced a total of 22 million tons of cement, which have contributed to the country’s urban development as well as the implementation of major infrastructure projects, said the CEO. Over this year, the company has also maintained profits year on year, aggregating to RO 130 million over this period – a sum that translated into attractive dividends for the government and other shareholders, he said.

The government’s 51 per cent stake in Oman Cement, the country’s first cement manufacturer, is held by Oman Investment Authority (OIA), the integrated sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate of Oman.