State Control Committee Acknowledges Failure Of "Modernization" Of Cement Plants

More than a billion dollars have been spent on "modernization".

The state funds invested in the "modernization" of cement plants did not bring proper return. This was stated by Chairman of the State Control Committee Leonid Anfimau at a meeting of the board, BelTA informs.

Today the board of the State Control Committee considers the results of control and analytical activities on the efficiency of the cement industry organizations. "The state has spent huge sums of money - more than $1 billion - on the "modernization" of cement plants, while hundreds of millions of dollars in state support have been provided. There is no expected return on these funds so far," - Anfimau said.

He stressed that a number of Lukashenko's instructions regarding the cement industry are not being fulfilled. "There are problems with the implementation of the Program of efficient use of capacities of cement industry organizations for 2015-2020. This year, after the next state support, there has been an improvement in some performance indicators, but not in the situation as a whole. So far, the solvency and financial stability of organizations have not been fully restored. But the debts of the plants have been postponed, and the amount of payments to repay the obligations will grow every year," - the Chairman of the State Control Committee noted.

Leonid Anfimau drew attention to the facts of unjustified mediation both when purchasing raw materials and selling cement, especially in the domestic market. "Losses of plants are estimated at millions of rubles. I believe that the new management of the Belarusian Cement Company has already started to put things in order both in the holding company and its member organizations," he stressed.

The head of the control department pointed out that the main purpose of the board meeting is to develop coordinated and comprehensively calculated approaches to improve the efficiency of the industry.

At present, the cement industry of Belarus is represented by three plants: Krasnoselskstroymaterialy, Belarus Cement Plant and Krichevcementnoshifer. All of them are part of the holding "Belarusian Cement Company". In 2012-2013, large investment projects were implemented at these plants, which allowed to put into operation modern lines for the production of cement by dry method with a total annual capacity of 5.4 million tons. About $1.1 billion was spent on the modernization of three enterprises.

Commissioning and development of new energy-efficient capacities allowed to renew fixed assets, increase labor productivity, reduce energy intensity of production, and significantly increase cement export volumes.

The head of state has adopted a decree for the financial rehabilitation of the cement industry this year, which provides for postponement and delay of payments for energy resources consumed, as well as obligations to the national budget and banks. This has made it possible to slightly improve the performance of cement plants in the first half of the year. Thus, net profit was received by Krichevcementnoshifer plant and Belarusian Cement Plant, while net losses of Krasnoselskstroymaterialy were significantly reduced.