Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Nov. 6 /Trend D.Azizov/
Kungrad soda plant with the design capacity of 100,000 tons of soda ash annually will reach its design capacity by the year end, a representative of the plant said told Trend.
This plant is the only enterprise producing soda ash in Central Asia. It was commissioned on August 2008.
Citic was engaged in the design and "turnkey" construction of the technological side of the enterprise at a cost of $32.3 million and funded at the expense of the Chinese Industrial and Commercial Bank's loan under insurance coverage of China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (90 percent of contract cost) and a loan from the Uzbek Uzpromstroybank (10 percent of contract cost).
It was previously reported that China's CITIC signed a contract on the design and equipment supply to increase the capacity of Kungrad soda plant by 1.5 times to 150,000 tons per year with the State Joint-Stock Company Uzhimprom in June 2012.
The project's implementation period is two years. The contract value was not disclosed. Uzhimprom's units will deal with construction operations
Chinese Exim Bank and Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank signed a loan agreement to the sum of $77 million to finance the project. The loan is being been delivered over 20 years, including a five-year grace period. The interest rate was not disclosed.
Besides the Chinese Eximbank loan, the project worth $110 million will be financed by a loan from the Reconstruction and Development Fund and Uzhimprom's own funds.
The soda plant capacity will be expanded by increasing the production of limestone in the Jamansay quarry and technical salt at the resource base of the Kungard soda plant at the Barsakelmes field in Karakalpakstan (an autonomous republic in north-western Uzbekistan).
Explored reserves of salt field Barsakelmes exceed 130 million tons of salt, limestone deposit Dzhamansay - about 70 million tons.
The main consumers of soda plant in the country are the enterprises of household chemicals and building materials, including the production of various types of glass.
Today the needs of the domestic market are estimated at 70-80 million tons, the remaining volume of output will be exported.