Azerbaijan, Baku, 15 February / corr. Trend I. Khalilova/ The demand for cement in Azerbaijan will go up by 3mln ton (up to 7mln ton) for the next 3 years regardless of the established cement producing plants, Heydar Babayev, the minister of economic development of Azerbaijan said.
Garadagh Cement open joint stock company, the biggest producer of clinker and cement in Azerbaijan, holds 40% of the market. According to the Minister, the company's share in the market goes down year in and year out which is attributed to the increasing number of cement producers in Azerbaijan. The cement plant established recently in the Gazakh region of the country can serve as an example, the minister said.
"It is a good starting point for competition in the country's building materials market, but Garadagh cement is the only producer of top quality cement," he said. The company plans to increase its production to 1.7mln tons for the next three years. The company sold 1.34mln tons of cement in 2007.
Currently talks are being held with international cement producers including French Lafarge. "The main subject of discussions is the sources of raw material," Babayev said. They want to ensure that there are limestone deposits to the next 100 years, he said.
The Minister said that investments put into cement production should not cause a price rise as prices are determined by the demand and international prices.
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