Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Jan. 22 / Trend D.Azizov /
The Uzbek Metallurgical Plant (Uzmetkombinat JSC, Bekabad, Tashkent region), producing 90 per cent of all steel products in the country, increased production by 0.4 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011, up to 736.300 tons , according to the company.
Last year, the plant produced 710.500 tons of finished products or 0.1 per cent more than in 2011, including 564.800 tons of rolled section steel (0.2 per cent growth).
Reportedly Uzmetkombinat increased steel production by 2.2 per cent in 2011 compared to the total of 733.100 tons in 2010, while finished steel production grew by 2.6 per cent to 709.900 tons.
Uzmetkombinat is the only steel industry company in Central Asia working with scrap metal. The plant was commissioned in 1956. Previously it recycled scrap metal coming from all the republics of Central Asia. The plant currently uses local scrap, as well as raw materials purchased outside of the country under tolling.
The capacity of the plant is designed to produce 790,000 tons of steel and 760,000 tons of rolled section steel.
The company's authorised capital stands at 114 billion soums. Some 71.91 per cent of its shares are owned by the state, 10 per cent by the labour collective and 2.65 per cent by minority shareholders. The Uzbek National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity, Promavtoinvesttorg, Navoi and Almalyk own 15.44 per cent of the shares.
Uzmetkombinat plans to implement a production development and modernisation programme worth $134.7 million in 2011-2015. The programme includes a project for production of ferroalloys based on the deposits at Dautash in the Kashkadarya region (south of Uzbekistan) at a project cost of $65 million.
Also involved are the construction of quarries of manganese ore and enrichment capacity at Uzmetkombinat for the production of ferromanganese, silicon manganese and ferro to a total volume of 12,000 tons per year, construction of wire rod mill worth $13 million and production capacity of 50,000 tons of wire rod per year, reconstruction and renewal of existing facilities worth $56.5 million.
The programme is planned to be financed using Uzmetkombinat's own funds.
The programme implementation will increase the enterprise's steel production capacity by 100,000 tons up to 850,000 tons, processed scrap metal by 290,000 tons up to 670,000 tons and reduce the enterprise's energy consumption by 20 per cent by 2016.
The official exchange rate on January 22 is 1993.53 soums / $ 1.