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Nearly $1.5 billion expected to be spent on modernization of building materials industry by 2015

 

As much as 12.5 trillion rubels (nearly $1.5 billion) is expected to be spent on the modernization of Belarus’ building materials industry by 2015, Deputy Construction Minister Dzmitry Semyankevich said Thursday while speaking at a plenary meeting of the first national forum on the theme of "The Building Materials Industry of the Republic of Belarus: Competitiveness, Efficiency, Innovation."

According to Mr. Semyankevich, a number of large-scale projects to be completed soon within the framework of the modernization program would make it possible to "double cement output, reduce energy consumption by 25 percent, double the polished glass production capacity, and start manufacturing new products, including laminated glass, glass wool, glass for medical applications, gypsum board panels and others."

There are plans to build a new plant in Hatava, Minsk region, which would be able to annually produce 20 million square meters of gypsum board panels, Mr. Semyankevich noted. "We’ve found an investor, a Russian company, that is to invest about €40 million in the construction of the plant, which would manufacture competitive products and we’ll have a guaranteed market thanks to this company's involvement, especially in the west of Russia," he said. "This is a serious project that is also important for the development of Minsk. If we carry out the project in the next two or three years, the large piece of land at the center of Minsk that is currently occupied by the Belhips gypsum products plant will be cleared for the construction of houses and office buildings."

There are also plans to develop new open-pit mines to produce broken stone, start up a new production line at the Homyelshklo glass plant and bring the modernized cement plants to full-capacity operation, Mr. Semyankevich said. // BelaPAN