Algeria: Abdesslam Bouchouareb, the Minister of Industry and Mining, has inaugurated the second production unit at the Ain El Kebira (SCAEK) cement plant near Setif. The new unit will have a cement production capacity of 2Mt/yr, according to the Algerian Press Service. The plant is controlled by the government backed Groupe Industriel des Ciments d'Algérie (GICA).
Bouchouare announced that the 1.5Mt/yr Adrar cement plant is due to be commissioned by April 2017 and the 2Mt/yr Chlef plant by October 2017. He added that national cement production is expected to increase by 5.5Mt/yr in 2017, allowing Algeria to export its surplus by early 2018.