Garadag Cement JSC is to expand the volume of the cement production by 15% and reach 1,5 mln tons annually, against present 1,3 mln tons, Trend reports. According to the co-ordinator of Holcim for CIS region Gareth Babbs, it needs to acquire new limestone field to increase the production. Existence of the field would mean acquisition of the raw material reserves for minimum 50 years, which would guarantee the receiving of additional 50 mln tons of limestone and recurrence of the investments allocated to the plant, Babbs said. The only problem for Garadag Cement is the acquisition of new field. In Russia, it is allowed to categorize the cement field, but impossible to export raw materials from it. Such fields in Russia are sold to the companies through auction, Babbs said. According to him, it is intended to invest $120 mln for the reconstruction of the plant and part of the finances will be attracted from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. According to the recent investigation, cement production in Russia with annual capacity of 2 mln tons require investment of в'¬300 mln and take 5 years for construction.
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