BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 28
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
Uzbekistan's Association of Building Materials Industry Enterprises (Uzpromstroymaterialy) plans to launch 23 plants for natural facing stones production in Navoi, Tashkent, and Jizzakh regions in 2021, Trend reports citing podrobno.uz.
According to the information, today, over 250 enterprises for the processing of natural facing stones - marble, granite, and others - function in Uzbekistan. Some 178,600 cubic meters of natural facing stone were mined at 67 deposits in 2019, more than 3.5 million square meters of various types of slabs and architectural products were produced.
In addition, as a result of the commissioning of projects in 2020 due to the development of new deposits, an additional 296,500 cubic meters of marble, granite, gabbro, and other types of stones were produced, more than 2.2 million square meters of various types of slabs and architectural products were produced.
Also, 5,700 tons of natural facing stones were exported for $1.2 million from Uzbekistan from January through November 2020.
At the same time, 110 deposits of natural facing stone were explored in the regions of Uzbekistan as of January 1, 2020. It was noted that their reserves amounted to 129.6 million cubic meters. Of these, only 47 percent or 61.5 million cubic meters are currently used, and 53 percent or 68.1 million cubic meters are not involved in industrial development.
Moreover, the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources, as of November 1, 2020, issued 227 licenses, of which 124 - for production and 103 - for geological exploration.
It is also reported that the Uzpromstroimaterialy Association in 2020-2021 provides for the commissioning of 23 investment projects in Navoi, Tashkent, and Jizzakh regions with a total value of $97.2 million with an annual capacity of 347,100 cubic meters of marble and granite, processing 2.6 million square meters of marble and granite slabs.
According to Uzpromstroimaterialy Association, as a result of the commissioning of new capacities, the extraction of export-oriented stones (blocks) and the production of new types of products will be achieved.
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