| Domestic demand for cement exceeds the present capacity of the Libyan Cement Company |
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ndustry
employs almost 30 percent of Libya’s 1.6 million workforce. The
non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors account for about 20
percent of GDP and range from production of iron, steel, aluminium and
cement to food processing and manufacture of textiles and handicrafts.
Foremost among Libyan non-oil industries is the Libyan Iron and Steel Company (Lisco), one of the largest iron and steel making companies in North Africa. In 2003 the company produced 835KT of long and flat steel products, of which 49 percent was sold for export. The company also exported 339KT of its 412KT hot briqueted iron production. Most of the exports went to Europe, followed by Asia and Arab countries.
Lisco’s facilities include a direct reduction plant, two steel melt shops, a three-line bar and rod mill, a light and medium section mill, a hot strip mill and a cold strip mill with a galvanising line and a coating line. The company implements the total quality management system according to ISO 9001/2000 standard.
Non-oil activity in Libya’s minerals sector includes production of ammonia and urea at the Marsa El Brega ammonia plant and cement production by the Arabian Cement Company and the Libyan Cement Company. There is also quarrying of clay, gypsum, limestone and dolomite, and the extraction of salt from the coastal plains near Benghazi and Tripoli.
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Cement production is one of the most promising industries in the non-oil sector. “We have the raw materials needed to produce cement of a very high quality and the demand for cement for construction in Libya is very high,” explains Hassan Hamed Bokzam (INTERVIEW), Secretary of the Libyan Cement Company.
The
company, which started production in 1972, has three cement-producing
factories producing 2.8 million tonnes annually and a fourth plant producing
cement packaging. The entire production is consumed by the local market,
including 2,500 tonnes of cement a day used in the manufacture of pipeline
for the Great Man-Made River Project (see article right).
Libyan Cement wants to increase the capacity of its production lines
and for that it is seeking the help of foreign partners. At present,
the company is operating below its potential, achieving only 50 percent
of its full production capacity.
Says Dr Bokzam: “One of the main obstacles is our ageing production lines, which are in need of renovation, replacement and maintenance. We need some form of cooperation with international companies in the cement industry in order to increase our production capacity and to modernise with the introduction of new technologies and training of human resources.”
Dr Bokzam believes the industry has a bright future and that it has the potential eventually to export to Europe and to other African countries. “Even if we were to produce at full capacity it would still be less than local market demand. Then there is the possibility of exporting cement at the clinker stage.”
Tel: +44 20 76296213, Fax: +44 20 74953707 - [email protected]