Head of the National Union of Contractors, Ahmed Ben Kaoud, spoke about serious manipulations in marketing and distribution in receipts saying “Officials and staff in administrations of cement companies and units of distribution are responsible for the cement rising prices which reached 600 dinars per sack weighting 50 kg, in a time the national production of cement in increasing”.

• “Departments of cement companies are selling receipts of distribution for people who have no relation with construction sector and who have no projects which need cement, they get these receipts in order to re-sell them in the markets with 600 dinars per sack outside the distribution units away from control”, he told Echorouk.
• “About 3000 contractors in the central regions stopped the work of construction and many employees were fired because of the cement crisis which started mast March. We are waiting for both Ministries of Housing and Trade to intervene and oblige cement companies to provide them with cement in order to re-launch their projects in the various Algerian regions.
• The national production of cement is now estimated at 18 million tons annually from companies like Orascom which produced 4 million and 500 tons annually, while the national demand reached 15 million tons, meaning that there is a surplus in production, but where did the Algerian cement production go, and why such a crisis?
• Many questions are asked and the Housing and Trade Ministries must investigate on this case.