Investments in the manufacture of cement, lime, and plaster in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) reached $18.1bn in 2015, a Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (Goic) report said.
Published by the Gulf Industrial Knowledge Centre (GIKC), the report said the number of factories manufacturing cement, lime, and plaster in the GCC jumped from 59 in 2011 to 69 in 2016, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4%. 
The report also highlighted a surge in investments from $15.4bn to $18.1bn, a CAGR of 4.1% for the same period, while labour force expanded from 25,304 to 26,469 workers, a CAGR of 1.1%. 
Furthermore, data from Goic’s Industrial Information Unit revealed that the manufacture of cement, lime, and plaster represented approximately 2.4% of the total factories, 47.3% of the total investments, and 9.7% of the total labour force in the field of building materials manufacture in 2015. 
The manufacture of cement, lime, and plaster includes the manufacture of clinkers and hydraulic cements, including Portland, aluminous cement, slag cement, and superphosphate cements, the manufacture of quicklime, slaked lime, and hydraulic lime, and the manufacture of plasters of calcined gypsum or calcined sulphate.
The GIKC publishes detailed industrial reports in GCC countries, which tackle various areas, including food, medical supplies, plastics, textiles, leather, chemicals and petrochemicals, engineering, the environment, recycling, and other important sectors. 
GIKC’s website is available in Arabic and English to provide a source of comprehensive industrial information in the Gulf. It offers a “unique set” of Goic’s industrial studies, industrial investment opportunities, and updated reports on several industrial sectors. For more information, visit www.knowledge.goic.org.qa.