Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Dec 4 /Trend D.Azizov/
In 2013, Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Complex (NMMC) will launch a project to renovate mining, transport and railway systems at a preliminary cost of $130 million, a source in government circles told Trend.
According to the source, the final calculations for equipment procurement will be ready by the end of this year.
NMMC plans to purchase 15 hydraulic excavators, 50 heavy-duty trucks, and to significantly upgrade mining equipment and railway rolling stock in the frame of the project.
The renovations are being carried out in order to intensify mining in the Muruntau quarry in the Central Kyzyl Kum - the main gold base of the plant as well as at Zarmitan and Guzhumsay fields in the Samarkand region.
The program will be financed through $70 million of NMMC funds and through a loan from the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan totaling $60 million.
By 2020, technical upgrades of road and rail transport will allow NMMC to increase supplies of rock from quarries to a refining capacity 35% greater than those of 2011 - up to 150 million tons per year.
At present, NMMC's fleet consists of about 5.3 thousand motor vehicles, 50 locomotives, and 1.04 thousand cars.
Navoi Mining is one of the major gold producers in Central Asia. The plant is fully owned by the state.