The Ministry of Economic Development of Azerbaijan announced the results of the negotiations with the Swiss Holcim Group, the founder of Garadagh Cement JSC, the only cement producer in the country, Trend reports.
The Economic Development Minister of Azerbaijan, Heydar Babayev said at the Press-Conference on December 8 that the negotiations completed successfully and it was decided to establish co-operation in several directions,.
An agreement was reached on creating distributor and dealer networks for the sale of the cement produced by Garadagh Cement, the Minister said. The necessity for this emerged due to the issue that although the JSC did not raise the prices for the cement, but from February 2006, the cement was sold in the market 50-60% more expensive.
According to the Minister, the products will be sold in the territory of Absheron peninsula through the network. 7 distributors and 112 dealers have been selected. Presently the cost of the cement is being resolved. The prices will be on the bags and it will be impossible to alter them. If the rules are broken, the offenders will be punished with the deprivation of the right to sell, he said.
The new prices for the cement and the activities of the selected companies are planed to be implemented from January 1, 2007. According to the co-ordinator of the Holcim Group for CIS Gareth Pabbs, the Company highly assesses its position in Azerbaijan and the market of the country is very optimistic.
We have received full presentation about the economical development of the country and this further expands the importance of the position of our company in Azerbaijan. I consider that more constructive approach was selected and we will fix a relevant price through joint efforts, and it will resolve the problem with the price raise, he said.
According to the Minister, the Anti-Monopoly Department will keep under control the prices for the cement in the regions not to allow the exceeding of the fixed prices.
Garadagh Cement JSC is the only cement producer in Azerbaijan. The Company provides a large part of the country with high-quality products meeting local and international standards.
The Swiss Company Holcim Group achieved great successes in the internal market of Azerbaijan on base of Garadagh Cement. Presently the products of Garadagh Cement JSC are widely used in the realization of the large-scale projects in Azerbaijan, including global energy projects.