Spanish Aricam mulls $250 mln Bosnia cement plant

Byswb

Updated 2009-04-29

The Bosnian Serb Republic government awarded on Tuesday a 30-year limestone exploitation concession to Spain's builder Aricam which plans to invest 192 million euros ($250 million) in a new cement plant.

Limestone from the quarry located in northwestern Bosnia will serve as the main raw material for the first cement plant in the Bosnian Serb region. Construction is due to start in 2011.

"The start of the cement production is planned for 2014. The plant will have an output of 1.2 million tonnes annually and will employ around 600 people," said Aricam General Manager Emilio Izquierdo Jimenez.

The Serb Republic Industry and Mining Minister Slobodan Puhalac said the government also plans to award another concession to Aricam for the exploitation of a nearby clay pit.

Bosnia's other autonomous half, the Muslim-Croat federation, has two cement plants -- Kakanj plant majority-owned by German HeidelbergCement AG (HEIG.DE) and Lukavac plant owned by Austrian construction firm Alas International. ($1=.7683 Euro)

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