Gezhouba Shieli Cement Company LLP

Status: operating (as of July 2022)

General information

Name: Gezhouba Shieli Cement Company LLP(*)

Chinese name: 葛洲壩西里水泥有限公司

Location: 120700, Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda oblast, Shieli district, Shieli village, Shygys Ondyrystyk zone, building No.9 (44°09’26.1 “N 66°47’50.5 “E)

Project type: construction

Owners: Gezhouba Group Cement Company (China, 50%), China Gezhouba Group Overseas Investment Company Limited (China, 20%), DANAKE Corporation LLP (Kazakhstan, 25%), Kadilet Naibuli (Kazakhstan, 5%).(*).

Main contractor(s): Beijing Triumph International Engineering Co. Ltd (China); China Triumph International Engineering Co., Ltd (CTIEC) (China); GezhoubaShieliCement Company LLC (Kazakhstan)(*).

Sources of financing: Bank of China ($64,5 mln)(*), China Eximbank ($64,5 mln)(*)

Project cost: $177 mln(*)

Project status: operating (as of July 2022)

Project Overview

The company has 17 cement plants in China and now its first plant in Kazakhstan.

In December 2018, the cement plant of Gezhouba Shieli Cement Company LLP, with a capacity of 1 million tons of cement per year, started its operations in the village of Shieli, Kyzylorda region(*). The average capacity of the plant is 2,500 tons of cement per day.

It is a joint venture of “DANAKE Corporation” LLP and Chinese company Gezhouba Group Cement Co. Ltd (*). This is one of the largest Chinese construction companies, among contractors ranks 33rd in the world in annual revenue (about $212 billion)(*). The company has 17 cement plants in China and now the first plant in Kazakhstan. Gezhouba Group plans to build cement plants in Central Asia and Kazakhstan(*). Gezhouba Shieli Cement’s products are cement for plugging, which is widely used in the construction, oil and gas and uranium industries.(*).

The enterprise is included in the program of 52 projects and is the only cement plant in this list(*).

Project impact

Air environment

Cement production by dry production method, which was chosen for the construction of the plant in Shieli settlement, is a low-waste technological process. All raw materials are completely used for clinker and cement production. The removed dusty air passes through filters and the precipitated dust is returned to production. With the use of cyclones and filters, emissions will be reduced by up to 99%. Field studies will be conducted one year after the plant is commissioned.
During the operation of the cement plant in Shieli settlement, emissions will amount to 3231,360 tons per year. The main emissions into the atmosphere are dust and carbon monoxide. The nearest settlement is located on the north-eastern and eastern side of the object. According to Kazgidromet, the prevailing wind is northeastern from the side of the facility.

Source: Minutes of public hearings on environmental impact assessment for the project “Construction of a cement plant with a capacity of 2500 tons of clinker per day in Shieli village”, 26.12.2017.

From the plant to the nearest houses is not more than 500 meters.

Immediately after the launch of the enterprise, local residents began to complain about its activities. Thus, residents of Sh. Kodamanova village complained about smoke, dust and unpleasant odor from the plant. In their opinion, the construction of the plant was not coordinated with them and sanitary norms for the location of the enterprise were not observed(*). Local residents began to have sick children, livestock and vegetable gardens.(*).

From the plant to the nearest houses is not more than 500 meters. According to the sanitary rules of the country, cement production belongs to the enterprises of 1 class of danger and the sanitary protection zone should be not less than 1000 meters(*). Gezhouba Shieli Cement LLP is included in the List of 50 companies in Kazakhstan with the highest amount of harmful emissions(*).

In a trial completed in 2021, a court in the capital confirmed the authorities' right not to provide Almaty-based environmental activists with official documents related to the construction of the cement plant, including an environmental impact assessment

Complaints, appeals, TV stories, posts on social networks did not solve the problem. As a result, four families of Sh. Kodamanova village decided to defend their right to breathe clean air in court(*). The residents have been suing the enterprise for two years. People say they are tired of dust and unpleasant odors and demanded the closure or relocation of the plant, as well as payment of material and moral compensation.(*). The trial continues, and the local court is still unable to decide whose interests should prevail – the health of citizens or the profit of the investor company(*).

It is very difficult to establish to what extent the charges of “Shieli Cement” in environmental offenses are justified, as public access to environmental information about the activities of the company is limited by the state authorities of the country. In a trial completed in 2021, a court in the capital confirmed the authorities’ right not to provide Almaty-based environmental activists with official documents related to the construction of the cement plant, including an environmental impact assessment.(*).

According to national legislation and the Aarhus Convention, to which Kazakhstan is a signatory, these documents constitute open environmental information that can be accessed by anyone. However, the government authorities consider the environmental documents for the plant to be “commercial secrets” and cannot provide them “without the consent of the customer”(*).

*Photographs taken by the “Just Journalism”

ECI