BTA Bank to finance Standard Cement new line

BTA Bank JSC will act as the main creditor for the construction of Standard Cement factory's second production line in southern Kazakhstan.

The funds will be used to acquire equipment for the dry-process line, a statement released on 21 October said. The new 1Mta line will be supplied by Tianjin Cement Industry Research and Design Institute of China. Construction and assembling works will financed by the cement producer. Standard Cement currently operates a 1.2Mta plant on Sairam village.

Bauyrzhan Seitzhanov, director of Standard Cement LLP, commented: "Construction of the second production line at our enterprise would enable not only increasing high-quality cement production volumes without any environmental damage, but also ensuring creation of additional job places and increase tax proceeds to the region budget. Construction of this line is performed according to a new technology with compliance with all fixed standards and focused on creating environmentally safe production."

In turn, Kadyrzhan Damitov, chairman of the Management Board of the BTA noted: "We are glad to take part in realisation of this project which is important both for economic and social spheres of the region.

Kazakhstan's robust oil- and gas-led economy has seen construction activity largely remain strong. Growth in domestic cement demand has been into the double-digits, and ast year, consumption reached 7Mt having increased by 13 per cent YoY.

Anticipating further rises in demand, the country's cement producers have set about expanding their production facilities, and it is expected that imports, which in 2012 stood at around 0.75Mta, could soon be relegated to the past.