Caribbean Cement Company Limited (CCCL) says it has disbursed a little more than $300 million to about 1,000 persons who were affected by the use of the poor-quality cement it released on the market last year.

Alice Hyde, marketing manager at CCCL, told journalists yesterday at a press briefing at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel that final cheques were prepared for claims that have been settled and payments should be made shortly.

A number of consumers complained bitterly last year after using inferior-quality cement, which was among a batch manufactured by CCCL.

The company withdrew the affected batch and pledged to compensate persons who bought and used the product.

CCCL now says the quality issues of 2006 were a thing of the past and it has recently been awarded the Bureau of Standards certification.