Uzbekistan, Tashkent, March 24 / Trend D. Azizov /
Uzhimprom and the Oman Oil Company signed a memorandum of strategic partnership, which envisages an Oman company's participation in four strategic investment projects to develop the chemical industry. The projects are worth $720 million from 2010-2014.
The memorandum was signed at a Uzbek-Oman business forum in Tashkent.
The list of projects cover building the second phase of the Dekhkanabad Potash Fertilizer Plant in the Kashkadarya region in the south of the country worth $250 million.
The second project envisages the establishment of a joint venture for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production in the Kashkadarya region at a preliminary value of $200 million.
The third project stipulates the production of a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) complex in the Navoi region worth $180 million.
The fourth project envisages the production of dimethyl ether (DME) at the Ferganaazot plant worth $90 million.
These projects are planned to be implemented with the Oman Oil Company.
According to the document, a working group will be established to coordinate joint activities. It will provide a monthly report to both parties. The sides plan to hold regular meetings to define the specific parameters of the Omani company's participation in the projects. The nearest meeting is set for May.
It was reported that the Dekhkanabad construction project envisages commissioning a production capacity of 400,000 tons of potash fertilizers by 2014. It is planned to announce a tender for the turnkey construction by late May. The construction is scheduled for 2011.
The plant's construction with a capacity of 50,000 tons of PVC and 32,000 tons of caustic soda annually is envisaged by 2014 within the PVC production project in the Kashkadarya region. Production is planned to be organized on the basis of ethylene from the Shurtan Gas and Chemical Combine.
The project on the organization of NPK production provides for the construction of a plant with a capacity of 250,000 tons of fertilizer by 2015, half of which will be exported.
The realization of the project to create dimethyl ether production on the basis of Ferganaazot will allow for the production of 100,000 tons of alternative fuels in the country.
The financing of the projects included in the memorandum will be provided for by direct investments, foreign loans, and credits from the Uzbek Fund for Reconstruction and Development and Uzbek companies.
Uzbekistan plans to implement about 20 investment projects worth $2.062 billion to modernize the chemical industry by 2015.