EIIC will start building the plant in January 2008 and operations are expected to begin in late 2010.

The factory, which will have capacity of 3.5 million tonnes a year, will be the UAE’s first clinker cement factory.

It will provide clinker for construction work in Abu Dhabi.

“This capacity is expected to cover most of Abu Dhabi’s needs for clinker cement,” says Adellatif Sfaxi, chief executive officer of EIIC. “We will also be able to supply a higher demand according to our future factory expansion strategies.”

The UAE’s construction boom is driving demand for clinker, which is used in cement production. Cement prices have spiralled over the last year.