Bahrain's cement companies which are conspiring to increase prices by 30 per cent are being confronted head-on by the government, said top officials.

In a bid to avert another building crisis, the Industry and Commerce Ministry is co-ordinating with other government departments to stop them. A meeting will take place on Monday to discuss the issue.

The minister, Dr Hassan Fakhro, and senior officials on Saturday held urgent talks with representatives of cement companies.

The ministry said it was stunned by local reports about a 'cartel', which was utterly unacceptable and conflicts with the fundamentals of a free market that determine the price of goods according to demand and supply and not by collusion and monopoly of contractors and dealers in building materials.

Reports claimed that the cost of an ordinary 50kg bag of cement will be raised by 33 per cent to BD1.600 and that of resistant cement by 32 per cent to BD1.650.

The price of bulk ordinary cement will surge by 30 per cent to BD30 per tonne, and bulk resistant cement by 32pc to BD31. Reliable sources said that increases were to prevent a price war between local factories and cement companies.

Bahrain Construction Society head Isa Abdulraheem said the society is against any sudden and unjustified increase in cement prices. He told our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej that a 30pc hike is too steep and unacceptable.-TradeArabia News Service