Over the first seven months of the year, Tajikistan produced more than 0.6Mta of cement, some 0.58Mt more than the same period of last year, according to data from the country's Ministry of Industry and New Technologies (MoINT).

The Yovon cement plant, which launched operations in late September 2013, accounted for around 443,000t of cement output during the reporting period.

With 10 cement plants now operating in Tajikistan, the country targets 1Mta of cement production in 2014, according an MoINT source told local press.

Domestic cement demand has increased sharply due to the with construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP), highways and other facilities of nationwide significance. Cement consumption in the CIS country currently stands at 1.5Mta.