Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has approved a plan for the creation of the holding Belarusian Cement Corporation.

The new holding company is expected to comprise three cement plants: Belarusian Cement, Krasnoselskstroimaterialy and Krichevtsementnoshifer as well as a transport and logistics company. Work on establishing the holding company is expected to be complete in 2014. The government expects to attract a strategic investor the following year.

This move should to help reduce the cost of construction materials manufactured from cement and lime, increase gross value added, return on sales, revenue per employee, develop new kinds of competitive cement products with a high added value, expand markets, increase sales and foreign exchange earnings.

Speaking about the cement industry,  Minister of Architecture and Construction, Anatoly Nichkasov, remarked that the target was to increase the output to 10Mt by 2015. According to him, the task of increasing the capacities was fulfilled. Two lines to produce cement were launched at Krasnoselskstroimaterialy and Belarusian Cement plant in 2012. A further line will come on-stream at Krichevtsementnoshifer in 2013. In 2008-13 the aggregate investments in the cement industry have amounted to US$1.227bn. Cement output from the works is expected to reach 6.1Mt.

Anatoly Nichkasov said that all three projects are cost effective and added that in terms of the cement industry development, Belarus is 5-7 years ahead of Russia. All three companies demonstrate a high production output per employee: Krasnoselskstroimaterialy - US$90, Krichevcementnoshifer - US$100, Belarusian Cement plant - US$129.

An estimated 4.9Mt of cement was produced in 2012. Today, cement production fully meets the domestic needs of the country. There are also export opportunities for its output. Last year the country exported 1Mt of cement, doubling 2011 volumes. In the first half of 2013, a total of 750,000t of cement was exported. It is expected that cement supplies will reach 1.5Mt by the end of the year. Cement is delivered mainly to Russia, Poland and the Baltic states. According to the minister, in 2012 Belarusian cement accounted for 19 per cent of Russia’s total cement imports.

Anatoly Nichkasov added that today’s major task for the industry is to produce value-added products: decorative, artificial stones and other goods. Currently only about 15 per cent of new houses in Belarus is built with the use of monolithic construction technology, while elsewhere in the world this practice is very widespread.