Uzbekistan, Tashkent, July 15 / Trend, D. Azizov /
The Uzbek Metallurgical Plant ("Uzmetkombinat", Bekabad, Tashkent region) increased steel production by one percent, up to 381,100 tons between January and June 2013 compared to the same period of 2012, a representative of the plant told Trend on Monday.
Around 90 percent of the ferrous metallurgy production in the country is at this plant.
The plant produced 366,800 tons of finished steel since early 2013 or 0.8 percent more compared to the same period of last year.
In 2012, the company's steel production increased by 0.4 percent - up to 736,300 tons, rolled products - by 0.1 percent to 710,500 tons, special iron rose by 0.2 percent - to 564,800 tons.
Uzmetcombinat is the only ferrous metallurgy company in Central Asia that works with scrap metal. The plant was commissioned in 1956. Previously, it recycled scrap metal coming from all republics of Central Asia. Currently the company is not working at full capacity due to reduced supplies of scrap.
The plant can produce 790,000 tons of steel and 760,000 tons of special iron.
At present, the company's authorized capital is around152.591 billion soums.
Around 72.01 percent of the shares belong to the state, 6.3 percent - the labor collective, 5.01 percent - minority shareholders in the capital structure. A package worth 16.68 percent is wholly owned by the Uzbek National Bank of Foreign Economic Activity, Uzbek "Promavtoinvesttorg", Navoi and Almalyk mining and metallurgical plants.
Currently, "Uzmetkombinat" is implementing the production development and modernization program worth $134.7 million for the period until 2016. The modernization program is being financed by Uzmetkombinat's own funds.
It is expected that the program's implementation will increase the steel production capacity of the plant by 13.3 percent - up to 850,000 tons, processed scrap metal - by almost 1.8 times to 670,000 tons and reduce electricity costs by 20 percent by 2016.
The official exchange rate is 2098,56 soums/$1 on July 15.