Meeting on ways to develop the cement industry of Belarus

Meeting on ways to develop the cement industry of Belarus
30 July 2007


On July 24, 2007 the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, held a meeting focused on the development of the Belarusian cement industry, reported the Presidential website www.president.gov.by.  
 
The Head of State tasked the government to triple the annual production of cement in Belarus from 3.7Mt in 2006 to 9.5-10Mt by 2011.  
 
The need for holding today’s meeting was fuelled by the difficult situation in recent years in the domestic market of cement and building materials, the President said. The shortage of cement in Belarus, decline of its exports and the need for cheapening building materials have become problems that need an in-depth and comprehensive treatment at the top level.  
 
The necessary steps need to be promptly taken in this area, Alexander Lukashenko said. According to him, today it is necessary to boost the production, revamp out-dated enterprises and identify the priority lines of technical re-equipment of the cement industry by applying both domestic and foreign experience in this area.  
 
Alexander Lukashenko harshly criticized the government for the failure to cope with the cement deficit problem. The President noted with regret that this problem has still to be tackled with despite repeated directions given to the government.  
 
Today, when we need to work for our domestic market and there are no other sources to take cement from, a problem has arisen. Instead of resolving the problem, we started introducing quotas and generated a pack of profiteers, the President said. He also pointed out that there had been various attempts in this country to improve the cement supply situation. In 1996, the Belarusian cement plant were put into operation, two more high capacity kilns were launched at Krasnoselsk some time after, thus making it possible to nearly double the production of domestic cement. However, the existing technological lines do not provide the possibility for a considerable increase in the production of that building material. So, the problem has to be resolved without delay.  
 
The Head of State gave instructions to tap deeper into the active deposits of raw materials used in the production of cement so that the cement industry could meet its growth targets. The President also tasked the government to continue searching for new deposits with a view to building three new privately-owned cement factories with the participation of foreign investors on terms favourable both for the investors and the state.  
 
Published under Cement News