Strabag: Negotiations for 220m-euro plant to be completed in a few months' time

Austrian group Strabag, with annual turnover worth 10 billion euros, will in a few months, finalise negotiations with the local authorities for the construction of a 220 million-euro cement plant in the town of Anina, Caras-Severin county. The production facility, with a capacity estimated at around one million tonnes a year, will be the first greenfield project since 1990 on the cement market, a market dominated by three players: Lafarge (France), HeidelbergCement (Germany) and Holcim (Switzerland). At present, annual cement production amounts to around 10.5-11 million tonnes, but demand exceeds supply, which has prompted players on the market to announce massive investments in boosting production. Strabag's decision to build a cement plant has also been made amid the Austrians' intense participation in tenders to build highways, a programme which will attract several billions of euros over the next few years.