LAHORE, Aug 27: Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives Jahangir Khan Tareen will inaugurate rehabilitated Cement Research and Development Institute (CRDI) here on Sept 9.

The institute housed in the State Cement Corporation building was handed over to the Technology Upgradation and Skill Development Company (TUSDEC) last month for upgrading the testing and calibration facilities.

The board of directors of the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) has approved the first phase of CR&DI upgradation project early this month.

“The upgradation project is being executed to ensure availability of all the necessary testing equipment to meet the needs of country’s booming cement industry and the construction sector,” TUSDEC chairman Almas Hyder said here on Saturday.

He said the ongoing boom in the industry and prospective expansion had necessitated the induction of modern testing technology with an objective of making quality raw material, especially cement, available to the builders.

The CRDI was established in 1983 by State Cement Corporation of Pakistan (SCCP) under the administrative control of investment and production ministry.

The institute presently has the facilities for conducting the tests like heat of hydration, thermal analysis of raw material and alkali activity of aggregates. Besides CDRI, the Universal Testing Machine is available with the Pakistan Steel.—APP