Severe gas shortage in Egypt has forced the government to cut down gas supply from cement companies and direct it to the power production companies. The shortage was primarily due to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company´s (EGAS) decision to temporarily cut off the gas supply.
EGAS supplies around 800 million ft3/d of gas to the country´s industrial sector – 150 million ft3/d of this is allocated to the cement sector. The cut has affected at least 10 cement companies where production has come to an halt. These plants account for almost 70 per cent of Egypt´s cement output. The plants have given three weeks off to their employees.
Plant owners are holding discussions with the Egyptian Prime Minister regarding the revision of gas prices in order to ensure that the cement industry can continue to operate. The Federation of Egyptian Industries noted that the halt in production was costing each of the plants approximately EGP15 million per day.