Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ruya Industries has put its planned $415m Hamiriya cement plant, located in Sharjah in the UAE, on hold while the company tries to secure financing for the factory, a source close to the project tells MEED.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project was due to be awarded in the first quarter of 2010, but no decision will be made until funding is secured.  

“Al-Ruya is waiting for funding before it awards EPC contracts,” the source says. “The company is actively looking for investors for this project at the moment.”

The capacity of the plant has also been reduced to about 1.7 million tonnes a year (t/y) from an initial planned output of 3.6 million t/y. However, depending on demand, the company could initiate a phase II that would double the planned capacity to 3.4 million-t/y. The plant would produce both ordinary Portland cement and sulphate resistant cement for both domestic and overseas markets.

The budget for the project has also been reduced, with the first phase costing about $136m and phase II costing $122m. The source also says that the project will most likely be re-tendered to reflect the drop in capacity.  

 The four Chinese contractors bidding for the original contract were:

• China National Building Material Equipment Corporation
• China National Building Materials & Equipment Import and Export Corporation
• CMIIC Engineering Corporation
• Tianjin Cement Ind

Al-Ruya Industries is a Saudi Arabia-based business group with interests in cement, fertiliser, steel and manufacturing across the Middle East, North and East Africa.