HeidelbergCement invests in Kazakhstan

On 26 November, HeidelbergCement signed an agreement for the purchase of 100% of the shares in the Kazakh Buchtarma Cement Company (BCC), one of the leading cement producers in Kazakhstan. BCC operates a cement plant in the northeast of Kazakhstan, 100 kilometres south of the town of Ust-Kamenogorsk. BCC also owns the company Vostok Cement, one of the country’s leading cement distributors.

The new company, HeidelbergCement Central Asia, will benefit from the country’s fast growing construction activity. Infrastructure and large construction projects are being planned; therefore, cement consumption will increase significantly also in the coming years. HeidelbergCement Central Asia will supply the whole Kazakh market via four existing terminals. A cement sales volume of around 2 million tonnes is planned for the year 2006.

With this investment, HeidelbergCement further continues its growth strategy in markets of the future. Particularly due to the development of the oil industry, a dynamic economic development of the country is expected for the next years. HeidelbergCement’s investment is a huge step in the development of international cooperation between Germany and Kazakhstan.