Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) has purchased a 10% stake in Garadagh Cement, the country's only cement producer.
A relevant agreement was signed on Thursday with Swiss Holcim group, the enterprise's main shareholder. The company's share constitutes 13.7m euros.
Holcim holds 69.4% of the participating interest, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) - another 10%, and private shareholders 10.6%.
Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev told the signing ceremony that the transaction represented an initial stage of the government's cooperation with Holcim. He said the AIC has been offered lucrative terms for becoming Garadagh Cement's shareholder and for cement production in the future.
The AIC Executive Director Anar Akhundov said the deal had several objectives - to invest in an important sphere of the country's non-oil sector, cooperation with Holcim and profit-making, which is pivotal for both companies.
Holcim Regional Manager for CIS and Caspian region Harold Babbs said Azerbaijan's construction market was very attractive and prospective given its rapid growth rate. "Holcim's board of directors therefore passed a decision on January 18 to invest 300 million euros in the country."
Babbs said the active phase of investment would begin only after certain conditions were met, including those related to the stocks of raw materials, allocation of a land plot and acquiring relevant permissions. He said the plant's annual output capacity would reach 1.7 million tons of cement after an upgrade of the facility. The plant produced 1.34 million tons in 2007.
Construction of a new plant with the capacity of 1.5 million tons in the Garadagh district outside Baku is envisioned as well. An agreement outlining initial terms of EBRD's participation in the project has already been signed with Garadagh Cement. The new plant is valued at $150 million, according to preliminary estimates.
Holcim privatized Garadagh Cement in 1999.