A new cement factory in Battambang province will come online on Friday with an annual production capacity of 1.7 million tonnes of cement, according to Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem.

“We will have finished four cement factories that can produce nearly 7 million tones [per year] of cement,” Sem said last week at the annual meeting for the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).

While the minister did not mention specific the name of cement factory that is set to open this week, the only factory with that capacity is the Battambang Conch Cement Co Ltd, a joint venture between China-based Conch International Holdings (HK) Ltd and local cement firm Battambang KT Cement Co Ltd.

Construction on the factory began in October 2016 on 100 hectares of land in Battambang’s Rattanak Mondul district, with an investment of about $230 million.

Sem said that with the addition of the new factory, Cambodia would be able to supply the domestic demand for cement.

Yos Monirath, spokesman for MME, agreed that the country would now be able to supply its own cement needs, though he acknowledged that clear data on demand for cement was difficult to obtain.

The spokesman also noted that with steady growth in the construction sector, more investment in cement production might be necessary in the future.

“The demand for cement and other construction materials has been increasing significantly,” he said. “For now, if the existing factories are fully operational, [they] can supply the current demand…but, if the speed of demand keeps increasing more and more, we think we will need more investment in cement factories.”