It’s no surprise to anyone who’s ever heard of Dubailand that the Middle East and North Africa are in the middle of a huge growth spurt — everything from residential housing to massive infrastructure projects.

In fact, Kuwait is prepared to spend tens of millions of dollars updating its refining industry. At last total, upgrades were going to cost $18.75 million. And that’s the low end of the scale for what’s happening in the Fertile Crescent. Some estimates put the number of construction projects at nearly 3,000, worth approximately $1.3 trillion… and that’s just the ones currently in the works!

The thing is, cement demand will rise by 40% over the next three years, and the top cement maker in the area, Orascom, won’t be able to handle it all. (Orascom was acquired by French cement maker Lafarge [LG: Paris] late last year.)

So the Gulf Cooperation Council is pooling $2 billion to build 75 new cement plants and create a brand-new company: Cemena.

The new company’s plants will begin its operations sometime in 2010, and Cemena will account for about 10% of the region’s demand.

Know what that means? Lafarge’s Orascom will still have to work overtime to help meet that 40% rise in demand. And that translates to profits. Lafarge just released its earnings report. Net income rose 49%, and earnings per share jumped 36%.

That’s good news for my buddy, Christian DeHaemer, editor of Material Profits. It’s also good news for Adam and me over here at Taipan Trader. The Middle East is one area we’re trying to break into for some juicy international companies.

With this type of growth in the face of all the unrest, it might be worth a risk or two.

Sara Nunnally

Editor, Taipan Trader

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