DUSHANBE, October 9, 2008, Asia-Plus — Geological survey at the site for construction of a new cement plant in the southern Khatlon province has been completed and construction of the plant will start soon, Mahmadjon Okhonov, the head of the building materials directorate within the Ministry of Energy and Industry (MoEI), said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, Oriengroup and China’s Xinjiang International Resource Company (Hua Jianjun) will fund construction of the cement plant, which is expected to have a rated capacity of up to one million tons of cement per year. “The estimated budget for construction of the plant may fluctuate from US$120 to US$180 million, depending on technologies they will use choose,” the MoEI official said.
Oriengoup intends to pay 70 percent of the project and the remaining 30 percent will be paid by the Chinese company. The plant that will be built in the Danghara district is scheduled to be finished in 30 months.
Okhonov noted that the ministry is currently considering the report of the Chinese company on geological survey conducted at the site.
He further added that a memorandum on construction of the cement plant in the Khatlon province was signed between the Tajik government and the Chinese company in January 2007, and a memorandum on a joint construction of the plant was signed between Oriengroup and Xinjiang International Resource Company in June 2007.
Tajikistan now needs 1.5 million tons of cement per year, while Tajikistan”s largest cement producer, Tojikcement (Dushanbe cement plant), currently produces up to 500,000 tons of cement per year. The rated capacity of the plant is one million ton per year, but because of obsolete equipment, it is now capable of producing not more than 500,000 tons of cement per year. In order to meet its requirements in cement, Tajikistan has to import it from other countries.
