Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Feb. 1 / corr Trend G.Hasanov /
An export resource will be established in mineral fertilizer production in Turkmenistan by 2015, local media reported this week.
Major kinds of potash, nitric and phosphorus fertilizers enable producers to manufacture combined fertilizers for local agricultural purposes, Neytralniy Turkmenistan reported.
Meanwhile, a huge complex of plants with a value of $1 billion and a project capacity of 400,000 tons of ammonia and 640,000 tons of carbamide per year was founded recently in Mari in eastern Turkmenistan. A consortium of Turkish and Japanese companies is implementing the project.
Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdimuhammedov described the opening of the new plants as a "step in making Turkmenistan one of the more industrially developed countries." Furthermore, the presence of huge natural gas resources in Turkmenistan serves as a basis for constructing new production capacities for manufacturing nitrogen fertilizers and, particularly, carbamide.
At the same time, the construction of a plant to manufacture potash fertilizers with a capacity of 1,400 tons was launched in the Lebapsk region based on the huge Karlyuk Field, which is rich in potash salts. The project's first stage, which involves a Belarusian company, is worth $1 billion.
Local experts guess that the chemical sector is a basic segment of industry, possessing essential macroeconomic efficiency. Its consumers are nearly all industrial sectors, including transport, agriculture, services, trade, the sciences, culture, education, and the defense complex.
The country has every precondition to develop the field - a mix of natural and labor resources, favorable climatic conditions, strong industrial infrastructure and a favorable geopolitical situation on the crossroads of major transport routes running via the Eurasian continent.
The strategic objectives of developing the chemical industry include facilitating the deep refinery of raw mineral resources, enriching the demand on the domestic market, creating a competitive import environment and establishing an export industry directed at advanced production.
In accordance with the Turkmen state socioeconomic development program in 2011-2030, the country will shape its production potential and produce various mineral fertilizers.
There is high demand for mineral fertilizers on domestic and foreign markets, which is explained by intensified agricultural production.
The major reasons for the increased mineral fertilizer demand on domestic and foreign markets are a rise in the population, an increased number of agriculture-planting sites, the improved welfare of the population and a greater volume of products.