SOVIET CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS INDUSTRY FAILS TO MEET BUILDING DEMANDS IN MANY REPUBLICS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130288-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 23, 2011
• Sequence Number: 288
• Publication Date: September 16, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130288-7
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Economic - Construct'.on materials
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily newspapers
WHERE
PUBLISHED USSR
DATE
PUBLISHED 18 May 1952 - 23 Apr 1953
LANGUAGE Russian
DATE DIST. /'` Sep 1953
NO. OF PAGES 14
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOVIET CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS INL?tSTRY FAILS TO MEET
BUILDING DEMANDS IN MANY REPUDLICS b
/This report presents information, from May 1952 - April 1953
Soviet newspapers, on accomplishments and shortcomings of the Soviet
construction materials industry. Data is arranged by republic.
Many enterprises of the Ministry of Construction Materials Industry USSR
fulfilled their 1952 production quotas early, ond, in November 1952, were work-
ing on their 1953 quotas. A nurioer of plants and combines mastered the mass
production of new types of buiidin,; materials.
For the first tine, enterprises of the ministry mastered the mass produc-
tion of colored fccing Claso, tinted asbestos-cement roofing slabs, gypsum-
fibered wall beard, nni.railer items, (1)
The ministry fulfilled its 1952 plan for gross output 99 percent,. (2)
In 1952, the gross output of building materials in the USSR as a whole in-
creased 19.:2 percent over 1951. Cement production was increased 1.5 percent,
slate 26 percent, soft roofing material 1', percent, and brick 14 percent. (3)
However, the minx=try failed to fulfill its plan for the production of vari-
ous tyres of cement, (4)
pacity of 15,000 tons, were completed.
The ministry also admitted that its program for producing unslaked lime
was being carried out very slowly, ar_d that the plan for erecting lime crushing
plants at existing enterprises was being put into effect unsatisfactorily. In
1952, it was hoped to put into operation five crushing plants with an over-all
capacity of 55,000 tons, However, only two such plants, with an over-all ca-
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
NAVY _ SARA DISTRIBUTION _
AIR F01 ~_JL
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130288-7
 ified in Part - Sanitized Corv Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130288-7
As of 27 February 1953, the ministry had taken steps to put into operation
daring the first half of 1953 crushing plants at the Gzhel', Gruzino, and
Volosoro lime plants. In the fourth
uarter 195
q
3, crushing plants with a ca-
pacity of 93,000 tons are to be completed at the Shchurovo (Moskovskaya Oblast),
Belgorod (Kurskaya 0blast),Veliko-Anadol' (Stalinskaya Oblast), Stalingrad, and
Minsk lime plants. Once these crushing plants ore put into operation at the
above enterprises, the ministry's output of unslaked lime will reach 98,000
tons, as compared to the 44,500 tons produced by the ministry in 1952. (5)
Azerbaydzhan SSR
For a long time, Azerbaydzhan SSR construction building organizations have
been using pumice, imported from the Armenian qSR, as the basic material for
producing light concrete.
Researchers at the republic's Scientific-Research Institute of Construc-
tion Materials have developed a local material which can replace pumice in
the production of light concrete. It was found that there Is a sufficient
quantity of raw material in Azerbaydzhan, particularly in Apsheron, suitable
for producing artificial rumice, or so-called "keramzit." Tests made by the
institute's laboratory .hewed the new product to be of sufficient mechanical
stability, Once the production of "keramzit" is mastered, it will be possible
for Azerbaydzhan building organizations to convert to the use of '.ight ma-
terials found in the republic. (9)
One of the largest asphalt-concrete plants in the reiublic started opera-
tior..s in the latter part of 1952 in Agdam. The plant, which will have an
annual capacity of about 60,000 tons of asphalt, will be able to meet asphalt
demands of Agdam and of surrounding communities. It quickly mastered the pro-
duction of asphalt and by the beginning of 1953 had produced more than 400
tons of the product. In 1953, about 50,000 square meters of streets in Agdam
are to be covered with asphalt. (10)
Belorussian SSR
Belorussian SSR brick output for the first 8 months of 1952 reached 366
million bricks, Total 1952 output was expected to surpass the prewar level
by 2.2 times, (11) k
As of 3 August, 30 brick plants with crownless furnaces had been built
in the republic during 1952, These furnaces have a great advantage over the
ground-type furnaces built previously.. They use one third to one half as much
fuel. Furthermore, sawdust and peat can be used for fuel as well as wood.
While the capacity of the ground-type furnace is between 150,000 any' 200,000
bricks per season, the rotary crownless furnace, operating without interruption,
yields up to one million bricks a year. Furnace construction coots are offset
during the first year of operations..
In addition to the pLants under construction in the middle of 1952, about
70 more brick plants were expected to be built in the republic during the
fatter part of 1952 The combined capacity cf brick plants with -rownless
furnaces under construction in 1952 was expected to be about 100 million bricks
per year, or 4-4.5 times greater than the combined capacity of plants with
ground-type furnaces in operation during 1951. (12)
In 1952, the Ministry of Construction Materials Industry Belorussian SSR
started an extensive program of expanding its construction materials industry.
BY 1955, the ministry expects to spend several hundred million rubles on the
construction of new plants, among them the Minsk Reinforced Concrete Products
Plant, which is expected to have an annual capacity of 60,000 cubic meters of
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130288-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130288-7
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130288-7
section?,1 structures and products, The fir?! part of this plant is expected
to be put In operation: in early 1954 and will supply buildes of brick build-
r
ings with a variety of sectional reinforced concrete structures and products.
The second part of the plant, in which large-paneled reinforced concrete houses
will be built for the republic, is expected to be nut to operation by the end
of the rive-Year Plan.
A ceramic plant was under construction on the si'r : the present Brick
Plant No 10 in April 1953,, The annual output of this new enterprise is ex-
pected to be 250,000 square meters of colorrt front facing ceramic tile,
200,000 square meters of colored flcer cer,,^.- earthenware tile, terra cotta,
anu r, jclicn, )nd 15,000 tons of ceramil- :,i,.:,,,
in 1952, the ministry orgini'ed rind ,rodu:tton of "61K" ceramic
facing vile at it_ Goryri Acld?i?~.tct;:.: '`rl, a lust of April 1953, it
was r,ui,rlyiri_ t h ' . : roduct to u i : 11 6r ; t ""re not ye, pre-
rpred
. we 1r? ,n . ,1 ,ru, inn rI t