DUBAI: The military accounts for 24 percent of cement production capacity in Egypt, the Financial Times reported, citing officials.
The cement spending spree has pushed a number of private sector players toward collapse and deterred investment in what is now perceived as an oversupplied market, the newspaper said.
“The military’s intervention appears to have been based on a false assumption that Egypt’s cement consumption would soar,” the FT said.
The cement situation highlights the growing involvement of the military in business in the country.
There are 60 companies linked to military organizations present in 19 of the 24 industries of the Global Industry Classification Standards, the FT reported, citing a World Bank report.
The military’s National Service Projects Organization (NSPO) controls 32 of them — a third of which were established after 2015, the newspaper said.
