Foreign traders show interest in Pakistani cement

LAHORE: At the conclusion of a two-day cement conference on Wednesday many global companies showed interest to either utilise the idle cement capacity via imports, or to enter into contracts to upgrade or construct new cement plants in Pakistan.

Marcus Fritz, director sales, Thyssenkrupp AG, a German multinational conglomerate with focus on industrial engineering and steel production, also expressed interest in establishing plants or exploring other opportunities.

“We have previously worked with a local cement company and helped them in setting up their plant, we are further looking for the same or allied opportunity for our company to work with Pakistani stakeholders,” the director said.

Pakistani infrastructural growth and its regional importance would help the country to further strengthen in this particular sector, and his company was looking forward to extend their cooperation with local stakeholders, he added.

UAE-based Gulf Cement (Pvt) Ltd Chairman Abdul Majeed said he was about to start work on a new cement plant owning to brighter prospects of this industry. “We are looking to create contacts and possible cooperation through this conference as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in general and One Belt One Road initiative in particular will open up new horizons for Pakistan,” he added. China National Building Material Co Ltd executive Chen Kui said Pakistan and China were already enjoying friendly relations. “We as a company are further looking to deepen our engagements with Pakistan in cement sector as CPEC and other infrastructural development initiatives are opening new horizons for us,” Kui said. Appreciating the good quality of Pakistani cement, an official of the Maize and Blue General Trading LLC, a trader and dealer of cement and clinker, said, “We are here to see how can we extend or trading relations with Pakistan.”

Mohammad Hossein Dehghani, operations manager of Maize and Blue General Trading LLC, said, “We are looking at how can we take benefit through Pakistani cement in United Arab Emirates and Iranian markets.” Dhruba Thapa, executive director, Cosmos Cement Industries of Nepal, said though it was tough to extend cooperation with Pakistan in the cement sector, but they could learn from Pakistan’s expertise.