Displaying items by tag: Aravan

Kyrgyzstan: Aravan Cement Plant, part of the Southern Combine of Building Materials, is considering building a third production line with a capacity of 1.5Mt/yr. Plant director Kubanychbek Turdubaev made the announcement to Kyrgyzstan Newsline in a discussion reflecting on the completion of the unit’s second line in 2018, which increased total capacity to 1Mt/yr. The Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund (RKDF) provided a loan for that project and the company intends to continue the relationship for the next one. China-based Tianjin Cement Industry Design and Research Institute (Sinoma TCDRI) and the Nanjing Long-W Energy Conservation Engineering were also involved. At present the plant sells half of its cement domestically and exports the rest.

Kyrgyzstan: A rally against the Aravan Cement Plant had been held in the Aravan district of the Osh region in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Protestors demanded that cleaning filters be installed at the plant, funds be allocated to the local budget and local infrastructure be improved. In addition, they demanded that the plant owners sell cement to residents of the Aravan district at discounted prices.

The protesters have vowed to block the Aravan-Osh road if the plant's management ignores their demands. Additionally they have threatened to revoke the mandate of member of parliament Azamat Arapbaev, who is one of the plant's owners. The rally follows a residents meeting held on 12 September 2012 where similar demands were raised.

Critics of the protest have blamed professional agitators seeking money. In May 2012, a special commission conducted analysis of the air, water and soil at the plant and concluded that all the data met the required standards.

The Aravan Cement Plant started operation in September 2008 with a capacity of 200,000t/yr. About 380 people work at the site. The Aravan Cement Plant is a Kyrgyz-Chinese company.