BAKU (Trend) — The largest cement plant in Central Asia has been commissioned in the Sherabad district of Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan, Uzbek media reported.

The cost of the project is $212.8 mln, and its capacity is 1.5 mln/year. The main part of the production will be directed for domestic demand. Construction of the Sherabad cement plant has been carried out by Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine (AMMC) JSC company. The Turkish DAL Teknik Makina Ticaret ve Sanayi AS company also participated in the construction of the plant.

Funding for the project was provided by AMMC’s own in the amount of $24.4 mln, loan issued by Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan worth $90 mln and another $110.6 mln credit funds granted by commercial banks.

There are currently five large cement plants in Uzbekistan: Kyzylkumcement, Akhangarancement, Kuvasaycement, Bekabadcement, Jizzakh cement plant, as well as a number of small enterprises. Their total capacity exceeds 8.5 mln tons of products per year. In the next five years, Uzbekistan plans to increase the volume of cement output to 17 mln tons per year.

Indeed, cement industry intend to build several large plants in the next few years. For example, Russia’s Eurocement Group will invest $220 mln in a dry cement production with capacity of 2.4 mln tons per year. Two more cement plants will be built with funds from Chinese investors. The first will appear on the basis of the Xin Lei enterprise in the Akhangaran region and will have an annual capacity of 1 million tons and cost $108 mln, the other one will be established on the basis of Akhangaranshifer plant with a capacity of 1 mln tons and a cost of $100 mln.