Ukrtsement asking for subsidies

The members of the Ukrtsement Cement Association are asking the Cabinet of Ministers and the parliament to grant subsidies and tax breaks to cement factories. Among other things, Ukrtsement is calling for introduction of preferential tariffs for transportation by the state-owned Ukrzaliznytsia rail transport administration of the industrial waste that is used in the production of cement as well as to stimulate the processing of industrial waste.  The request states that the state budget for 2005 should allocate UAH 12 million for reducing the tariffs for transportation the industrial waste that is used in the production of cement as well as to stimulate the processing of industrial waste.  

According to the association, the rail tariffs for transportation of waste and the prices of the waste itself have risen in the past two years, as a result of which it is becoming unprofitable to use them in production because the cost of the cement produced from them will be higher than the cost of cement without additives.  Meanwhile, the increase in demand for cement without additives and the fall in or discontinuation of production of cement with additives are resulting in accumulation of industrial waste and a deterioration of the environmental situation. 

Waste from the metallurgical and chemical industries and the fuel and energy complex are used in the production of cement.  Cement factories reportedly processed 2.7Mt of industrial waste in 2004.