Update on Uzbekistan
Cement producers in Uzbekistan have been benefitting from government measures to provide a conducive development environment for the building materials sector. Cement demand has grown rapidly, leading to new plant start-ups, but new capacity and gas shortages are putting pressure on utilisation rates. By Avesta Investment Group, Uzbekistan.
The rising importance of Uzbekistan's construction industry has meant that local cement producers are
benefitting from government measures to support the building materials sector (© IKN)
Uzbekistan is the third-largest cement producer in the CIS region after Russia and Ukraine. In recent times, the domestic cement industry has been the beneficiary of government measures to support the development of the building materials industry from a number of perspectives.
On 21 February 2022, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan signed a resolution for the creation of industrial building material clusters in eight regions of the country to encompass the complete value chain: from the extraction, processing and laboratory testing of raw materials, to the production of finished building and cladding materials.
In terms of trading, since 1 March 2022 locally-produced cement, clinker and building glass can now be exported under direct contracts without quotas or restrictions.
