Cambodia inaugurates fifth cement plant hinh anh 1Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the ceremony to inaugurate the new cement production plant. (Source: khmertimeskh.com)
 
Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia put into operation a cement plant with a production capacity of one million tonnes per year in the southwestern province of Kampot on November 14.

The plant is Cambodia’s fifth cement plant and comes in response to the rapid development of the construction sector.

Owned by local conglomerate Thai Boon Roong Cement Co Ltd, it will provide 335 jobs for local workers along with 35 positions for foreigners.

Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem said at the inauguration ceremony that the 110 million USD plant is able to produce around 2,500 tonnes per day of two types of cement – “packing cement” and “plastering cement”.

Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over the inauguration ceremony, proclaiming that the country will no longer be reliant on imported cement.

Unlike cement, steel cannot be produced locally and so the import of steel can be seen as an indicator of growth within the construction sector.

According to the World Bank, steel imports were up 63.5 percent in the first nine months of 2019 compared with the same period last year. From 2017 to 2018, imports of steel grew by just 27.7 percent.

The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction announced that investments in construction had shot up to 3 billion USD by the end of the second quarter of this year, compared with 2.1 billion USD during the same period in 2018./.
VNA