Egypt-based El Sewedy Cables has said it will build a $150 million power cable plant in Qatar with a local partner to tap surging Gulf Arab infrastructure spending.

The factory will have an annual production capacity of 30,000 tonnes, most of which will be sold in the local market. It will begin operations at the end of 2009 or early 2010, it said in a statement.
“With a number of new infrastructure projects planned, we believe our presence in Qatar is critical to enable us to capitalise on this growth potential,” chief executive Ahmed El Sewedy said.
El Sewedy Cables, the largest-publicly traded Arab cable producer, said it would own half of the project and Qatari-based Aamal Holding would own the rest.
It said 60 per cent of the project would be financed with medium-term loans and the rest with equity. Imported machinery and raw materials that did not exist in Qatar would be exempted from custom duties.
The company is currently building cable factories in Algeria and Saudi Arabia and expects operations in both to start during the second half of 2008.
The company posted a 78 per cent increase in first-quarter net profit after tax and minority interest to 260 million Egyptian pounds ($48.6 million), with revenue from factories outside Egypt constituting 20 per cent of total revenue, up from 12 per cent in the first quarter of 2007.
During the quarter it increased its stake in the Slovenian electrical meter company Iskraemeco to 97.6 per cent from the 68.3 per cent stake it bought in November.