Over the first three months of this year, Tajikistan has reportedly produced about 843,000 tons of cement, which was 9.0 percent more than in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies (MoINT).
In January-March last year, Tajikistan reportedly produced about 747,000 tons of cement.
An official source at a MoINT says Tajik-Chinese joint ventures Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement, Huaxin Gayur Cement, and Huaxin Gayur Sughd Cement accounted for nearly 85 of the local production in the first three months of this year.
Dushanbe-based cement plant (Tojik Cement) accounted for only 6.4 percent of the local production over the same three-month period.
Nearly 36 percent of cement produced Tajikistan over the first quarter of this year has been exported to neighboring countries.
Over the report period, Tajikistan has reportedly exported more than 150,000 tons of cement to Uzbekistan, more than 140,000 tons of cement to Afghanistan and nearly 12,000 tons of cement to Kyrgyzstan.
Tajikistan now has 13 cement plants with a total production capacity of 4.7Mt/yr.
Tajikistan has increased production of cement significantly in recent years due to launching new Tajik-Chinese joint ventures. Over the last eight years, production of cement has increased in Tajikistan nearly ten times.
Meanwhile, such achievements of Tajikistan’s industry evoke concern of ecologists, who consider that excessive increase in cement production may cause irreparable harm to the country’s environment.
According to them, more polluting plants in China are forced to shut down or pay the costs of environmental damage in the wake of new laws and a crackdown on pollution. Cement is one of the world’s most polluting industries, and therefore, Chinese producers have moved excess capacity offshore. The Chinese cement plants mainly use coal for their fuel. The companies reportedly claim that their plants are using advanced environmental and energy saving technology, without specifying exact standards.
