Anhui Conch Dismisses Employees Working on Cement Plant Project Near Ulyanovsk

The Chinese Anhui Conch — the world's largest single-brand supplier of cement and commodity clinker — dismissed the employees involved in the future project of a cement plant in the Terengulsky district of the Ulyanovsk region. The company also closed down its office in Ulyanovsk. According to regional authorities, the project itself is still relevant and remains in development regardless of Anhui Conch withdrawing.

In 2015, the Governor of the Ulyanovsk Region Sergey Morozov and one of the directors of the Chinese company Anhui Conch Cement, Wang Jiangchao, signed a cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, the company should build a cement plant near the chalk field Soldatskaya Tashla in the village of Podkurovka of Terengulsky district. The investor was going to create about 400 jobs at the plant and pay 4 million rubles to the district budget. The regional budget was supposed to receive taxes in the amount of 700 million rubles every year.

Executive director of ‘Ulyanovsk Region Development Corporation’ Sergei Vasin refused to provide detailed comments. According to him, this may adversely affect the future of the project. The construction of a cement plant is not the only project in the region involving Chinese investors: ‘Zhongneng Huanya’ will manufacture medical equipment in the region.

In 2016, the Russian government included the project in the ‘Strategy for the development of the building materials industry’ for the period until 2020-2030. In 2017 and 2018, residents of the district protested against the construction of the plant. However, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources — citing the Federal Agency for Subsoil Management and the Ministry of Industry and Trade — twice denied Chinese investors the opportunity to use the resources of the Soldatskaya Tashla deposit.

In 2015, Anhui Conch also announced its participation in two more projects in Russia: two cement plants with a total design capacity of 3.7 million tpa. It was reported that agreements on investment were reached back in 2013 between Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

Anhui Conch Cement Company was founded in 1997. Products under the Conch brand are exported to more than 20 countries and regions of the USA, Europe, Africa and Asia. In July 2019, Conch Group entered the Fortune Global-500 rating with annual revenue of $28.5 billion.