The chairman of Belarus’ State Control Committee, Leonid Anfimau, has stated that the funds invested in the domestic industry have yet to see a return.

"The state has spent huge sums of money – more than US$1bn – on the "modernisation" of cement plants, while hundreds of millions of dollars in state support have been provided. There is no expected return on these funds so far," said Mr Anfimau.

The three plants of the domestic cement industry are all part of the Belarusian Cement Co holding company. In 2012-13, large investment projects were implemented at these plants for new dry-process lines with a total capacity of 5.4Mta.

However, Belarus head of state, Alexander Lukashenko, adopted a decree for the financial rehabilitation of the sector this year, which provides for postponement and delay of payments for energy resources consumed, as well as obligations to the national budget and banks, according to BelTa.

"There are problems with the implementation of the programme of efficient use of capacities of cement industry organisations for 2015-2020. This year, after the next state support, there has been an improvement in some performance indicators, but not in the situation as a whole. So far, the solvency and financial stability of organisations have not been fully restored," said Mr Anfimau.