President criticized officials for proposing to build new cement plants

At the meeting held on January 18, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev defined priorities in the field of investment and spoke about officials proposing to build new cement factories.

“In our country, production capacities that can more than cover the annual need for cement have been put into operation. But it is surprising that officials are proposing to build 22 more cement factories instead of increasing cement products with high added value, introducing technologies that reduce harmful effects on the environment,” the president said.

In the last six years, the volume of investments attracted to the industry has increased 7 times. Nevertheless, it was noted that the analysis of how many jobs each dollar of investment has created, how much the added value and exports have increased among the leaders of the complex, sector and region is not enough.

In the last three years, $14.2 billion worth of equipment was imported. However, with the introduction of so much technology, the industrial export of the regions has not increased accordingly.

“If the industry and export are not growing at the expense of such funds, then either the project is “inflated”, or unnecessary equipment is brought, or there is no specialist who knows how to use these technologies,” the head of state said.

The General Prosecutor’s Office was tasked with creating a control system to identify and put an end to equipment imported from abroad at high prices.

Today, there are 37 cement plants in Uzbekistan, their production capacity is around 30 million tons. According to official data, the country’s enterprises cover 92% of the domestic demand for cement (in 2019, this figure was 79%).