Uzbekistan, Tashkent, October 14/ Trend, D. Azizov /
Romanian ADREM INVEST SRL will build a plant for vacuum liquid steel by the end of 2013 with the reconstruction of the integrated steel processing unit at the Uzbek Metallurgical Plant ("Uzmetkombinat" JSC, Bekabad city, Tashkent province) with a total cost of $17.1 million, a representative of the plant told Trend on Monday.
According to the representative of the plant, a $13.1 million contract was signed with the Romanian company within which ADREM INVEST SRL will carry out the supply of technologies and equipment, construction and commissioning works and will train the personnel.
The project is being implemented in order to expand the assortment of products and to increase the export potential of "Uzmetkombinat" JSC.
The project is planned to be financed by the funds of "Uzmetkombinat" JSC in the amount equivalent to $8.1 million and loans from the Joint Stock Commercial Mortgage Bank of Uzbekistan in the amount of $9 million given to the plant.
The loans are given for periods of five years including the 12-months grace period with an annual interest rate of 8 per cent.
Uzmetkombinat is the only ferrous metallurgy company in Central Asia that works with scrap metal and accounts for 90 per cent of the country's ferrous metallurgy production.
The plant was commissioned in 1956. Previously, it recycled scrap metal coming from all Central Asian republics. Currently, scrap metal is generated in the country as well as raw materials purchased outside the state under tolling.
The plant can produce 790,000 tons of steel and 760,000 tons of special iron.
In 2012, Uzmetkombinat increased steel production by 0.4 per cent (up to 736,300 tons) compared to 2011.
As it was reported, Uzmetkombinat JSC plans to implement a production development and modernisation programme worth $134.7 million that ends in 2015
.
It is expected that the programme's implementation will increase steel production capacity of the plant by 13.3 per cent up to 850,000 tons, processed scrap metal by almost 1.8 times to 670,000 tons and reduce electricity costs by 20 per cent by 2016.