KARACHI: Attock Cement Pakistan has signed a Joint Venture Agreement for the installation of 3,000 tonnes per day cement grinding plant in Basra, Iraq.

The JV partners are Al-Keetan Trading and Commercial Agencies Limited, a private limited liability company incorporated under the existing laws of Iraq, a statement released by the company said on Friday.

In reply to queries, the chief executive of Attock Cement, Babar Bashir Nawaz stated the cost of the project was $35 million, with JV interest of ACPL and Al-Keetan in the ratio of 60:40.

Babar observed that ACPL was the only Pakistani cement company which presently was exporting concrete to Iraq. The company has been making despatches to Iraq for the last 3-4 years.

The ACPL CEO admitted that Iran was a tough contender for the share in Iraq’s

cement market. “We do enjoy advantage of premium pricing because of superior quality, but due to other factors such as low quality and low prices as well as convenience of transportation etc., Iranian companies are grabbing a bigger share of the market,” he conceded.

Besides sizeable export to Iraq, which is in the throes of rebuilding and reconstruction, ACPL has also secured footholds in the markets in Sri Lanka and South Africa. “The African continent is emerging as a major export destination for cement,” says Babar.

He mused that the grinding plant in Basra could become operational in a year’s time.