Baku, Azerbaijan, March 6
By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on the sustainable development of coal industry in the country, Trend reports via Uzbek media.
Uzbekistan annually delivers 1 million tons of coal to the population and 400,000 tons of coal to social facilities. There 4 million tons of coal are burned to generate electricity at the Novo-Angren and Angren thermal power plants.
It was noted during the meeting that coal mining plans are not fulfilled; system problems in the industry have not been eliminated despite large potential of coal deposits in recent years.
"For example, the technical and technological base of the fields is outdated. The work on the opening of mines is lagging at the Angren field, which is the main source of raw materials for the industry. The slope angle of the pit has exceeded the norm and conditions for mining have reached a dangerous level," the press service of the head of state said.
For the prompt and effective solution of these issues, it is planned to transfer Uzbekugol Joint-Stock Company to external professional management.
Furthermore, the meeting identified measures to improve the situation in Angren field. The need to develop a strategy for the development of this field, covering the maximum provision of the needs of industries and people in coal in the near and long term was noted.
The president paid special attention to the issue of increasing the financial stability of Uzbekugol JSC. The Ministries of Finance and Energy have been instructed to optimize coal prices, increase the profitability of the industry and cover investment costs.
Moreover, the need to update the vehicle fleet for the effective organization of mine work was stressed during the meeting. Responsible persons are instructed to purchase the necessary dump trucks and other special equipment for the best offers. Instructions are given to reduce production costs by decommissioning equipment that is not used in mining.
Attention was also paid to ensuring the safety of the population living close to the southern border of Angrensk field.
The Cabinet of Ministers was instructed to address the issues discussed, in particular, to develop a program of comprehensive measures to improve the management efficiency of Uzbekugol JSC, to attract an external professional manager, to introduce modern technologies in the industry and to improve the quality of coal.
In December last year, Uzbek government approved a resolution on transferring of 45 percent of the shares of Uzbekugol in trust management to the Russian company ProgressGortTech.
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