Six new cement plants will be put into operation in Tajikistan in 2015 and 2016, Tajikistan’s Ministry of Industry and New Technologies said on Tuesday, Avesta news agency reported.

Tajik-Chinese joint venture Tajchina has already started the construction of a cement plant with annual capacity of 1.2 million tons. The plant is expected to be put into operation this year.

New cement plants will also be built in Dangara, Bobojon Gafurov, and Isfara districts, as well as in Istiklol city.

Another cement plant, with annual production capacity of 1 million tons, will be constructed in the Yovon district in two years.

Today there are 10 cement plants in Tajikistan.

The country’s largest cement plant is Huaxin Gayur Cement Co., Ltd, with the participation of China’s HuaXin Cement Co. Ltd. The plant has a capacity of 1 million tons.

HuaXin signed an investment agreement with the government of Tajikistan in September 2014. According to the agreement, HuaXin will invest $250 million to construct a second and third cement production line in Tajikistan, which will be put into operation in 2015 and 2016, respectively. By then, the overall production capacity of HuaXin in Tajikistan will reach 3.5 million tons.

Four projects to build cement plants in Tajikistan are currently underway with Chinese investments.

With the commissioning of new cement plants Tajikistan would become an exporter of cement, Avesta earlier reported citing a source in the country’s industrial sector.

According to official statistics, in January-November 2014 Tajikistan produced 1.1 million tons of cement, by 783 thousand tons more than in the same period last year.

In January-October 2014 Tajikistan imported 487 thousand tons of cement worth $54 million, by 494 thousand tons less than in the same period in 2013.