Tag Archives: cement

Tajikistan increases cement exports

JAN. 25 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan quadrupled its cement production in 2016 to 2m tonnes and opened up export routes to its neighbours, media reported quoting the ministry of industry. Chinese investment has built three new cement-making factories, adding a vital export to Tajikistan’s economy. Previously Tajikistan had only exported to Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan. Now it also exports to Uzbekistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)

Kazakh cement maker reports soft market

JAN. 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Steppe Cement, the London-listed Kazakhstan-based cement producer, posted full year results which showed a 4% drop in production and a 4% fall in prices because of a fall in demand. Steppe Cement’s main market is Kazakhstan which has been struggling to maintain economic output because of a drop in oil and gas prices, a recession in Russia and fall in the value of the tenge. Steppe Cement said it was going to focus on maintaining prices over market share in 2017.

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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)

HeidelbergCement to invest in Georgia

SEPT. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Germany’s HeidelbergCement said it will invest $100m into expanding its cement and concrete plant in Kaspi, a small town 50km outside of Tbilisi in northern Georgia. HeidelbergCement has operated in Georgia for 10 years.

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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)

Cement plant expands in Uzbekistan

JULY 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkish company DAL Teknik Makina completed the expansion of one of the largest Uzbek cement complexes, the ministry of economy said in a statement. State- owned Almalyk Mining-Metallurgical Complex commissioned the expansion of the cement plant in the Jizzakh region near Samarkand, southern Uzbekistan, for $35.8m. The plant should now increase production of cement to 650,000 tonnes in 2016 and to around 1m tonnes thereafter. Last year, China’s Shanfang Cement pledged a $130m investment to build a new cement plant in Uzbekistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Uzbekistan increases cement production

NOV. 24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan has increased its cement production by 7% so far this year, media reported quoting industry executives (Nov. 24). They also said that they plan to add more capacity to their production. Uzbekistan is a net exporter of cement. It has become big business and is a major employer.

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(News report from Issue No. 258, published on Nov. 27 2015)

Dal Engineering signs memorandum to build cement plant in Uzbekistan

NOV. 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkish construction company Dal Engineering signed a memorandum to start building a new $225m cement plant in Uzbekistan. Dal Engineering will partner with state- owned Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine to build a 1.5m tonnes/year plant in the southern region of Surkhandariya by 2017. Slow foreign investment has delayed the project. Once built, the new plant will increase cement production capacity in Uzbekistan by 20%.

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(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Uzbekistan says it wants foreign investment

NOV. 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s government said it wanted foreign investors to buy stakes in state-owned enterprises, part of a privatisation plan it said was designed to bring expertise into some of its biggest companies.

Deputy PM Rustam Azimov made the statement at an investment forum in Tashkent.

“[The plan is] to attract strategic investors who are able to bring new technology and equipment (and) organise the production of modern and competitive products,” Reuters quoted Mr Azimov as saying.

He cherry-picked three companies, seemingly as a teaser to pique foreign investor interest. These were cement maker Kizilkumcement, chemical producer Ferganaazot and electronics plant Foton.

For foreign investors, though, Uzbekistan has always been a complicated to do business in. It holds a high level of natural resources, mainly gold, gas and cotton, but is riddled through with corruption and intrigue. Western companies have previously had their assets taken by the Uzbek state too.

It remains to be seen if Uzbekistan is serious about opening up to foreign investors — and also whether these investors are Western, Korean, Chinese, Russia or from elsewhere.

The Uzbek government does need to raise funds though to deal with the current economic malaise.

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(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Chinese cement to expand in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

SEPT. 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Shangfeng Cement, a Chinese cement producer, aims to raise 1.5b yuan ($235m) to fuel its expansion into Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The two projects Shangfeng plans in Central Asia both have a capacity to produce 3,200 tonnes of cement per day and will cost around $130m. Shangfeng plans to sell its cement in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and northern Afghanistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Chinese firm boosts Tajik cement output

JULY 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – An official at the Tajik ministry for industry told the Asia Plus news agency that the country was a step closer to cement self-sufficiency thanks largely to the work of Huaksin Gayur Cement, a factory completed last year that can produce 1m tonnes of cement annually.

That figure dwarfs the productive capacity of national champion Tajik Cement, which produces four or five times less. Tajikistan consumes 1.5m tonnes of cement per year and imports from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Russia.

The 75% Chinese-owned enterprise in the capital Dushanbe is one of several key Chinese investments to have popped up in Tajikistan over the last year. In addition to building heating plants for Dushanbe and Tajikistan’s second city, Khujand, China has begun construction of an oil refinery in Khatlon province that will almost meet Tajikistan’s domestic fuel needs.

Factory-by-factory, Beijing is also easing the employment crisis in the world’s most remittance-dependent country. Huaksin Gayur Cement has provided over 400 local jobs. The Khatlon refinery will provide a similar number.

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(News report from Issue No. 192, published on July 9 2014)

China’s investment surge in impoverished Tajikistan is beginning to show results.

Russian cement in Uzbekistan

JULY 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Eurocement, a Russian company linked to oligarch Filaret Galchev, will build a factory near Tashkent, media reported. The $128m plant will take two years to build. The announcement is an indicator that Russian business is interested in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan and Russia have had strained relations.

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(News report from Issue No. 192, published on July 9 2014)