Holcim will sanction Garadagh refurbishment

Thought to be a year behind schedule, preparations for the overhaul of the cement plant of Garadagh Cement in Baku are coming to fruition. The chairman of the board of Garadagh Cement Uwe Koehler informed Azer-press that the executive board of Holcim was ready to sanction some US$75m of investments in Zurich in June in the refurbishment of the Garadagh Cement plant in Baku. The tender for main projecting contract is in process at present. It involves companies from Denmark, Germany and China’, Herr Koehler noted.

The work will last for two years at the shortest. Consequently, production of cement will rise to 4 thousand tonnes daily. For that, the dependence on the import of clinker will be alleviated and the import of clinker will be discontinued altogether eventually.

It is planned to build a new furnace No 5 instead of the four old ones, which will be halted in 2007. The new furnace will make it possible to reduce consumption of natural gas by the cement plant by approximately forty per cent.