Arab Union’s Zliten cement factory resumes production

By Sami Zaptia.

London, 11 October 2020:

After a stoppage of more than a month, the Arab Union Construction Company (AUCC) announced yesterday that its Zliten cement factory has resumed production. Production had stopped due to power cuts.

It reported that initial production was 100 trailer trucks and that this will increase gradually.

It quoted Zliten wholesale prices at LD 50 per quintal (100 kg) but anticipated these will ‘‘decrease to below LD 40’’.

It will be recalled that there is high demand for cement with prices sky rocketing due to a shortage in supply. In August the price of local cement had risen to more than LD 75 (US$ 53) per ton, compared to around LD 30 about a year ago, Libya’s state news agency LANA had reported.

The more than doubling in price was partly put to war damage to local cement factories, some of which had stopped manufacturing, but it was mainly attributed to pure monopolistic speculation by those described in Libya as crisis or war merchants.

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Monopoly and speculation lead to unprecedented local cement price rise – as Libya seeks post-war reconstruction