Siam Cement joins Cambodia to open first cement plant

Phnom Penh, - CAMBODIA : Cambodian workers balance on scaffoldings at a building site in Phnom Penh, 14 January 2008. Cambodia opened its first cement plant on 14 January, in a multimillion USD joint venture with Thailands Siam Cement, to back the booming construction industry in this impoverished kingdom. The factory, located in the quiet coastal backwater of Kampot province, can produce 960,000 tonnes of cement per year, Prime Minister Hun Sen said. AFP PHOTO/ TANG CHHIN SOTHY

January 14, 2008
PHNOM PENH - The first cement plant, a multimillion-dollar joint venture between Siam Cement and Cambodia, was opened in Phnom Penh to back the booming construction industry in this impoverished kingdom.

Siam Cement and Cambodia's top building firm Khaou Chuly Group spent 93 million dollars to build the plant.

The so-called plant is known as Kampot Cement Co.

The factory, located in the Kampot province, can produce up to 960,000 tonnes of cement per year, according to AFP.

It is said to meet 40 percent of Cambodia's current demand for cement.

Kampot Cement already plans a 100-million-dollar expansion that will boost the factory's capacity to two million tonnes of cement a year.

Cambodia imported some 2.2 million tonnes of cement to meet soaring demand in 2007.

Construction is booming with billions of dollars of foreign investment, while South Korean companies are planning to build satellite cities and skyscrapers in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh.