They say a war can have many casualties. It seemed like the Iran-Israel war had claimed a new victim. In the fog of war, it was claimed that a cement factory in Iraq had been targeted. Social media started to see videos of an alleged Iranian drone attack crashing into the metallic skeleton of a facility that seems to be manufacturing cement.
What seems to be the link to Pakistan in all this? Early reports indicated that this factory was operated under a joint venture between Lucky Cement and the Al-Shumookh Group under the name of Najamat Al-Samawah joint venture.
The project had started all the way back in 2021 with one clinker being built. The aim of the new expansion was to capitalise on the post war reconstruction and infrastructure boom which would lead to a boom in demand. Lucky Cement wanted to take advantage of this and establish this joint venture. The plant had a capacity of 1.82 MT per annum at the Sanawah facility. The joint venture would have a 50:50 partnership between Lucky Cement and UAE-based Al-Shumookh Group. The seeds of the project were planted in 2021 when construction was carried out by China’s Sonoma International.
The new expansion came online on 13th of May 2025 when the new kiln was fired up successfully during a hot run test. In conjunction with an old clinked already being established in 2021, the new capacity of the plant was around 1.82 MT per annum.
When representatives at Lucky were contact to confirm this rumour, they provided the following holding statement stating that “Lucky Cement Limited would like to clarify that all of its plants, both in Pakistan and abroad, are operational. The safety and well-being of our employees remain our highest priority. As a responsible organisation, we handle all the matters with the utmost care and due diligence. We appreciate your understanding and kindly request that unfounded speculation be avoided.”
Even though the statement does state that all the plants are operational, they do not deny the rumour that any such attack took place or not. In addition to that, Lucky Cement is a listed company and the representatives were asked whether this incident will be disclosed to the stock exchange or not. Again, there was no comment in relation to this.
Something to note here is that in Iraq, standard insurance policies often exclude war-related damages, but specialised insurance can provide coverage. For individuals and businesses operating in Iraq, it’s crucial to consider war and terrorism insurance, as well as other high-risk coverages like kidnap and ransom insurance. Additionally, the Iraqi government provides compensation for war-affected property under specific laws. In regards to the damages that have been sustained, this is one area which will add additional complexity to an already complex situation.
