Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Feb. 20 / Trend D.Azizov /
The Kungrad soda plant (northern Uzbekistan), the only manufacturer of soda ash in Central Asia, increased output by 8.2 per cent to hit 97,800 tons in 2011, the plant reported on Monday.
The plant with a current design capacity of 100,000 tons of soda ash per year was commissioned in August 2006 by China's Citic Pacific Ltd. and Uzkhimprom. The total project cost was $100 million. The designed capacity of 100,000 tons is planned for 2012.
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 by the Chinese Industrial and Commercial Bank's loan under the insurance cover of the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (90 per cent of the contract cost) and a loan from the Uzbek Uzpromstroybank (10 per cent). Construction works were carried out by local companies using their own finance.
The raw material base for the Kungrad soda plant are the Barsakelmes salt deposit (proven reserves - 131 million tons of salt containing NaCl over 97 per cent) and limestone deposits Dzhamansay (proven reserves of 70 million tons) located in Karakalpakstan. Annual demand for the plant's limestone is 153,000, in salt - 160,000 tons and ammonia - 1000 tons.
Maxam-Chirchiq (Chirchik city, Tashkent province) and Navoiazot (Navoi city) provide the plant with ammonia.
It was reported earlier the State Joint-Stock Company Uzkhimprom and the Chinese company signed a memorandum of cooperation in 2011, to increase plant capacity by 1.5 times - up to 150,000 tons of soda ash per year by 2015. The contract between CITIC and Uzkhimprom is expected to be signed in the first half of 2012. The financing of these projects with a preliminary cost of $50 million is envisaged due to a loan from the Chinese Eksimbank and Uzbek funds.
The soda plant capacity will be expanded by increasing the extraction of limestone on the Dzhamansay opencast mine and technical salt from the Barsakelmes deposit in Karakalpakstan.
Uzkhimprom reported in 2010 that the Kungrad Soda Plant produced 90.300 tons of soda ash, which is 17.6 per cent more than in 2009.
The need of the national economy for soda ash is estimated at 60,000-70,000 tons per year. The main customers are companies in the chemical and building material sectors, including the production of various types of glass.