Overview
In May 2006, HeidelbergCement purchased a stake of 51% in the Georgian cement grinding plant Kartuli Cementi; this was HeidelbergCement’s first investment in the Caucasus region. The plant is located in Rustavi, 50 km from the Georgian capital Tbilisi. In the meantime the plant has been extended and transformed into an integrated cement plant. The new plant with a cement capacity of 400,000 tonnes was commissioned in early 2008.
At the end of 2006 HeidelbergCement acquired a stake of 75% in Saqcementi, the largest cement producer in the Caucasus region. Saqcementi operates two cement plants (Kaspi and Rustavi) near the capital Tbilisi with a total capacity of 1.6 million tonnes of cement.
(Data as of June 2008)The market
Georgia is a strategically well located country with a big potential for growth. It benefits from the transport of oil from neighbouring Azerbaijan and is also a transit country between the Black and the Caspian Sea. Therefore, further economic growth, large investments in infrastructural projects and a significant increase in cement consumption are expected. Saqcementi is the market leader in Georgia with a share of around 60% and, in addition, supplies Azerbaijan (market share of around 20%) and Kazakhstan. Saqcementi and Kartuli Cementi operate on the market under the common brand of HeidelbergCement Georgia.