A US$10m credit for the second stage of reconstruction of Garadagh Cement, Azerbaijan, will be approved by the Council of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on 26 April 2006. Total budget of the project is estimated in US$13.3m, of which US$10m will be provided by EBRD, European bank said.

Reduction of environmental pollution is one of the major aims of the project. The cement factory agrees to conduct the dispersion techniques in accordance with the EU standards, however, to achieve that it is necessary to install an electro-static filter on the existing kiln or replace this kiln with a new one.  All actions and measures to be undertaken on the environmental issues are included into the environmental plan, which is a condition for the EBRD participation in the project.

Realization of the given project will decrease the energy consumption and dispersion of CO2. It will also introduce the EU ecological standards at the factory and the EU cement production rules on the prevention of pollution. Holcim, which took control of Garadagh some years ago, has agreed to invest additional US$100m in the second stage of the factory reconstruction.