Baku, Azerbaijan, February 21
By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:
Uzbekistan plans to increase the annual cement output to 17 million tons, which is twice the figure for 2018 (8.3 million tons), Trend reports via Uzbek media.
Uzbekistan intends to significantly increase the production of building materials by 2021, according to the decree of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which must be approved before April 1 of this year.
In particular, it is planned to increase the annual output of architectural and construction glass - up to 32 million square meters, chipboard - up to 380,000 cubic meters, aerated concrete blocks - up to 700,000 cubic meters, wallpaper - up to 4.5 million rolls, concrete products - up to 180,000 square meters.
The construction boom in the country contributes to the constant growth in purchases of equipment, construction equipment and materials.
So, last year, the volume of imports of building materials amounted to $1.2 billion, which is 23.3 percent more than the previous year. Uzbek State Statistics Committee report on January 2019 underlines that this trend continues.
The same report states that 67 projects will be implemented in Uzbekistan to modernize existing enterprises and create new ones for the production of building materials worth $1.3 billion in 2019-2021, where $692 million is foreign direct investment.
The presidential decree also provides for the creation of Uzbek Association of Building Materials Industry Enterprises (“Uzpromstroymaterialy”), which gain the authority to manage the industry. Uzstroymaterialy JSC that supervises the industry at the moment will be liquidated.
Membership in the association is issued by manufacturers of building materials on a voluntary basis. The organization is financed by contributions from its members and other sources not prohibited by law. In this case, the amount of these deductions is excluded from the amount of income tax paid by companies until January 1, 2022.
Mirziyoyev's resolution on the investment program for 2019 was issued at the end of 2018. Uzbekistan intends to master a total of $7.83 billion in industry investment projects in accordance with this document. The most amount - $4.15 billion - will be spent on the construction of new facilities and $1.45 billion will be spent on the modernization and reconstruction of existing buildings and structures.
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