Qatar to make copper wires, aluminium bars as it resists embargo

[DUBAI] An affiliate of Qatari conglomerate Aamal Co plans to build three factories to produce copper wires, aluminium bars and drums for cables, projects that could make the country more self-reliant in the face of an embargo by other Arab states.

The factories will be established by Senyar Industries Qatar Holding, owned 50 per cent by Aamal and 50 per cent by Egyptian cable maker El Sewedy Electric Co, Aamal said on Monday.

Qatar's government has been encouraging companies to set up local production facilities, reducing the need for imports, since Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries cut diplomatic and transport links last June, disrupting import channels.

"Once those three projects are completed, we will have an integrated cycle for cable manufacturing that will fulfill the local market needs as a first step before we then export to other markets," Aamal's chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al- Thani said in a statement.

Qatar's natural gas industry and large number of infrastructure projects create heavy demand for wires and cables. A source familiar with the projects told Reuters they were planned before the embargo began.

The three facilities will have combined paid-up capital of US$31.6 millionand be funded by a combination of equity and debt, Aamal said. They are to be completed between the end of this year and the end of 2019.

REUTERS