The Liberia Cement Corporation, also known as Cemenco,
AllAfrica.com, 2012-04-24. Accessed 2012-11-07. is a major company in the

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

of the

Republic of Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. One of the oldest firms operating in the country in the early twenty-first century, it holds a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

on the sale of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

in the country.To Increase Production: CEMENCO Installs New Mill
''

Liberian Observer The ''Liberian Observer'' or ''Daily Observer Newspaper'' is a newspaper published in Liberia. Based in Monrovia, The Liberian Observer Corporation was founded by Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Y. Best in 1981. An independent newspaper, it states that it ...

'', 2012-11-05. Accessed 2012-11-07. The firm's original factory was opened by Mr. Fouad R Khalifa a Lebanese businessman and by President William V.S. Tubman in early January 1968.. In the early 2010s, another firm announced its goal of entering the Liberian market, but by late 2012, no other companies were yet in the market. In response to this challenge, corporate officials announced in November 2012 their plans to erect a new

manufacturing plant A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an Industry (manufacturing), industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with Outline of industrial machinery, machinery, where workers manufacturing, manuf ...

. Its previously existing facility is located on

Bushrod Island Bushrod Island is an island near Monrovia, Liberia surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Saint Paul River, the Mesurado River and Stockton Creek (a tidal channel that connects the two rivers). It contains the Freeport of Monrovia, the major nat ...

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

, as is the site of the plant announced in November 2012; at that time, company bosses were planning to use a site formerly occupied by a manufacturing component of the defunct Mesurado Group of Companies.CEMENCO 'Air Pollution' Outrages Residents
''

'' 2012-09-26. Accessed 2012-11-07. Historically, Cemenco had warehouses at the Freeport of Monrovia, but an ownership dispute over the warehouse property resulted in its conveyance to a Chinese firm in late 2012. In the mid-2000s, Cemenco was partially privately owned; its shares were divided among international firm Scancem, which owned 62% of the company; the Liberian government, with 29%; and other stockholders, who owned 9% of the company. Its monopoly status derives from a government decision in 1977, before the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

that overthrew the country's government; at least one prominent Liberian has alleged that the monopoly status was a mechanism to enable political corruption by government officials who personally owned shares in the company., TLC Africa, 2005. Accessed 2012-11-07. Liberia Cement has been the focus of

environmental health Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. In order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in ...

complaints from those who live in nearby Monrovia neighborhoods, such as

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most ...

and the Jamaica Road corridor. Residents have alleged that government officials have provided them no aid in fighting the company, which they say causes numerous childhood diseases because of the wide dissemination of the dust that its grinding process produces. In light of this difficulty, early plans for the plant announced in 2012 included the addition of

pollution control Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

equipment approved by the country's pollution control agency, and at the same time, observers noted reduced dust emissions from the existing plant. The firm's goals include achieving the ability to produce multiple types of cement, rather than continuing to import the product from other countries.

References

{{reflist 1977 establishments in Liberia Cement companies of Liberia Companies based in Monrovia Monopolies Manufacturing companies established in 1977