Investors pledge $120m to upgrade cement plant in Georgia
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A German multinational building materials company plans to upgrade its existing cement and concrete facilities in Georgia, spending $120 million USD to do so.
HeidelbergCement Caucasus (HC Caucasus) today announced it will renovate and develop its cement plant in Kaspi, Georgia’s Shida Kartli region over the next two years.
To do this HC Caucasus teamed up with the Georgian Co-Investment Fund (GCF) and Hunnewell Partners, a private equity, asset management and recovery firm with offices in London, Tbilisi, Kiev and Miami.
Today the three sides met to discuss the project and agreed the final cooperation document should be closed by June 2016.
Apart from financial contribution, the partnership will enable HC Caucasus to capitalise on GCF’s portfolio of cement-intensive projects and Hunnewell’s expertise in primary construction materials.
Out of the total $120 million investment, $100 million will be spent on introducing a new cement production line in the Kaspi cement plant.
Those behind the project believed adding a new cement production line, which meant using a dry process, would substantially reduce the production costs.
HC Caucasus announced preparation works in Kaspi started at the end of 2015. The main works will begin in July 2016.
Meanwhile, the remaining $20 million will be invested in upgrading and developing the supporting network of ready-mixed concrete and aggregates plants in order to reach a strong vertically integrated business setup.
The three involved parties said they were also looking into opportunities of expanding the production base in west Georgia after completing the Kaspi plant expansion project.
Heidelberg Cement started operating in Georgia in 2006. Tje company currently operates three integrated cement plants (one plant in Kaspi and two plants in Rustavi), a cement grinding facility in Poti and a cement terminal at the Black Sea coast. Collectively the cement factories can produce more than two million tonnes of high quality cement.
A hundred million dollars is being invested in a new cement plant in western Georgia to provide top quality cement for local and export markets.
French-based company LAFARGE will lead the project with help from local company Leader Cement.
A German multinational building materials company is upgrading its existing cement and concrete facilities in Georgia, spending $100 million USD to do so.
BASF, one of the world’s largest chemical manufacturers headquartered in Germany is looking to open a representative office in Georgia.