OREANDA-NEWS. During the 18th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and EUROCEMENT group - the biggest manufacturer of building materials in the CIS - signed a Liaison Agreement on Issues Related to External Economic Activity. The document was signed by Alexey Ulyukaev, the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, and Mikhail Skorokhod, the President of EUROCEMENT group. The purpose of the agreement is to secure favourable conditions for the holding company's economic activity overseas.

The agreement stipulates that the parties will cooperate in order to promote the Holding company's interests among foreign entities involved in external economic activity, as they seek to implement a building project, of unprecedented scale, involving the construction of modern cement manufacturing plants in Russia, which will operate using the energy-efficient and environmentally friendly 'dry' process.

In order to implement the programme, on May 20 EUROCEMENT group signed an agreement with companies in the groups SINOMA, CNBM and SINOMACH1, for the supply of equipment worth a combined total of more than half a billion dollars, during a bilateral meeting between the two heads of state in Shanghai.

The implementation of this programme will enable the Holding company to increase the proportion of cement that it manufactures using the 'dry' method to 100% by 2018. The shift towards this technology will lead to a doubling of energy efficiency in manufacturing, an increase in workforce productivity of 3.5 times and a reduction in environmental impact by a factor of 2.5 times (compared to standard industry norms). By the time the program reaches its conclusion, in 2018, 63% of all the cement manufactured in the Russian Federation will be produced using the 'dry' process.

Said Mikhail Skorokhod: “The implementation of the programme to construct new cement manufacturing facilities in the Russian Federation will require strategic cooperation on a wide range of issues with foreign partners who have mastered the best global practices. The agreement that we have signed will enable Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and EUROCEMENT group to join forces in order to develop Russia's building materials industry.”