Iraq produces over 2 million tons of cement in 2024’s first quarter
One of the cement factories of Northern Region Cement Company. Photo: NRC
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The General Company for Iraqi Cement, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, announced on Wednesday that it recorded a notable increase in output during the first three months of 2024.
The increase in output represents 22 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023, according to Shafaq News.
The Director of the General Company for Iraqi Cement, Haider Hadi, revealed that the company’s factories throughout Iraq produced more than 2.35 million tons during the first quarter of 2024.
Hadi indicated that some of the company’s cement factories have reached their maximum production capacity, while the rest of the factories will soon reach their maximum capacity.
In January, Al-Diyar Al-Iraqia Investments Company and Saudi Arabia’s Northern Region Cement Company struck a cooperation agreement wherein the Iraqi company would purchase 49 percent of the Saudi company’s investments in Iraq.
In light of the high cost of borrowing, a portion of the $43.95 million in earnings from the acquisition will be used to pay back the costly loans and to make outside investments.
Northern Region Cement would accomplish its objective of establishing a strategic alliance that will enable it to increase its investments in promising markets through this cooperation.
The Northern Region Cement Company announced in November that it signed a $139 million contract with the German company KHD to build a production line with an output of about 1.32 million tons of cement annually in Iraq.
According to the corporation, the financial effects of the deal will become apparent in the second half of 2025.
The company achieved profits worth $3.74 million in the second quarter of 2020, compared to nearly $3.75 million in the same period of 2022, representing a growth of 0.16 percent.