Construction of a new cement plant can begin in Azerbaijan before the end of this year and it will take two to two years and a half to build it, Minister for Economic Development Farhad Aliyev told reporters. Construction of a new cement plant is considered as the chief way to overcome market monopolisation and beat down the price of cement in the country.
’The abundance of the goods is one of the most important factors keeping prices from rising. There should be so much of it that the demand would be lower than the offer and the prices would decline consequently. The Ministry of Economic Development applied to the importers for importing more cement and to Garadagh Cement for increasing production to create surplus offer of cement. Garadagh Cement is the only producer of cement in Azerbaijan and there are distributors who buy cement from the plant and re-sell it charging very much. We have had serious talks with Garadagh Cement on more than one occasion and we are trying to keep the price from rising’, Farhad Aliyev said.
The management of Garadagh Cement indicated their preparedness to increase the productivity of the plant to 1.4 mn tonnes of cement every year. Negotiations with the investors bring the hope of getting the new cement plant built in the end. Its capacity and capital costs will depend on investors’ proposals. There are several proposals made already, negotiations are in progress. The investors have certain requirements regarding the raw material, the start-up terms, etc, according to Farhad Aliyev.
