It is reported that Ducab, a power cables manufacturer equally owned by the governments of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is investing AED 125 million to commission a copper rod factory in the UAE capital as part of its expansion activity.

Mr Andrew Shaw MD of Ducab said that the factory is owned by the German manufacturer Contirod and would be the first copper rod making facility in the UAE. He added that the factory would start operating in June 2008 with an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes of copper cable per year.

Ducab currently has a 35% market share of the low and medium voltage cable in the UAE. It would hit its target of 50% growth for 2007 or AED 2.2 billion from AED 1.6 billion recorded the previous year, due to increased domestic sales and exports to Saudi Arabia.