Republic Cement & Buildings Materials Inc., a cement producer led by CHR Plc and the Aboitiz group, said Thursday it expects demand to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2021 as the government resumes infrastructure build-up.
Republic Cement president and chief executive Francis Nabil said while cement demand dropped 15 percent this year as the pandemic slowed down construction activities in the country, demand was expected to reach 35 million metric tons next year.
“Cement demand forecast for 2021 [is expected] to reach 35 million which is more or less the same level as 2019. We are bullish on infrastructure, although we see that there would be some lag in some segments of the construction like malls and office developments,” Nabil said.
Nabil said the company was on track to achieving its target of 9.7 million annual production capacity this year with the expansion of Bulacan and Iligan mills.
Nabil said the company purchased the needed equipment before the pandemic that would enable it to increase production by 2.3 million metric tons.
