Qatar’s “rapid and brave” expansion projects have prompted Alkhalij Cement Company, part of  Qatari Investors Group, to invest nearly QR800mn on a new production line to keep up with the growing demand for cement, an official said.
Firas Tayssir Ibrahim, chief administration officer of Qatari Investors Group, said the new line is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2016, increasing cement production by 50% and doubling clinker production.
Ibrahim’s statement, which he delivered after the conclusion of a training workshop for customers held recently, was confirmed by Alkhalij Cement Company chief operations officer Jose Escalera.
“The unprecedented growth in Qatar’s construction remains as the primary motive of all companies to place more efforts in improving their products and services to meet the terms of this growth and support it with emphasis on quality and effectiveness factors.
“This has prompted Alkhalij Cement Company to increase its production capacity to cope with the increasing market demands. While the production of clinker will reach around 2mn tonnes and cement around 3mn tonnes by the end of 2015, our projections show that in 2016 and when our new line is operational, we will need to produce close to 4mn tonnes of clinker and 4.5mn tonnes of cement,” Escalera explained.
Ibrahim said Alkhalij Cement has organised the workshop in collaboration with Grey Matters, “to support key and mega projects in Qatar through learning, knowledge sharing, supporting, networking, and humanisation.”
The event gathered technical and specialised personnel in the concrete and construction sectors and was aimed at informing customers of the factors that contributed to the enhancement of quality and effective use of cement and concrete products.
“This workshop comes within the framework of the educational strategy the company has adopted to facilitate advancement of the experience of its customers in order to achieve higher effectiveness and quality in the use of cement and concrete,” Ibrahim said.
“Therefore, we contribute to providing these projects with the competence and know-how that can keep pace with the Qatari market aspirations and needs as the country undergoes its distinctive construction boom,” he noted.
He added: “Alkhalij Cement Company embraces a learning and partnering tactic based on high and reliable quality as an essential pillar to achieve excellence and competitiveness while, at the same time, recognising and spreading that, along with a distinctive product, you must have the human cadres that possess the knowledge, experience, and relations that constitutes the basic element of success.”
Rabih Fakih, managing director of Grey Matters and workshop facilitator, said: “The importance of this co-operation between Grey Matters and Alkhalij Cement is to emphasise on the educational and awareness aspects of the company’s clients and employees to optimise the usage of the products and realise quality.”