CEMEX said on Thursday it will begin construction on a new $460 million kiln at its Tepeaca Cement Plant in Puebla, Mexico.

The plant, located in central Mexico, will be used for cement production, while taking advantage of the latest technology for fuel use, and environmental standards. The new industrial plant will be one of the largest constructed worldwide and will be the largest cement production facility in the Americas.

"This investment reflects our confidence in the strength of the Mexican economy and in the continued high growth of the housing and infrastructure markets in the country. We expect this investment to provide a return on capital employed well in excess of 10 percent and will allow us to capitalize on the increasing demand for cement products in Mexico,' said Lorenzo H. Zambrano, Chairman of the Board and CEO of CEMEX.

Current production at the Tepeaca Plant is approximately 3.2 million tons of cement per year. Once the project is completed, production is expected to be 7.6 million tons of cement per year. CEMEX currently has operations in more than 50 countries and produces an estimated 97 million metric tons of cement per year.

Mexico Manufacturing