Egypt’s Industrial Development Authority said it will announce early next month what it will do with two cement licenses which it has withdrawn because of start-up delays and financing shortfalls.
"In August, we’ll be ready to announce," Amr Assal, head of the authority, said in a phone call on Sunday, adding that the authority’s board will meet to approve the fate of the licenses in the first week of August.
Egypt set a July 1 deadline for new bids for the licenses, which it withdrew in November from El Wadi Cement and North Sinai Cement.
In June, Assal said the locations specified by the licenses — in north Sinai and southern Egypt — had apparently dampened enthusiasm for the permits and that they might be scrapped.
Only one company, Horus Cement, a subsidiary of Naeem Holding, bid for either of the licenses, the authority said on July 3.
The construction industry has grown in Egypt despite stalling elsewhere in the region. Cement demand rose 25 percent last year, driven largely by the housing needs of a growing population and a cash-fuelled economy.
