Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug 29
By Fakhri Vakilov -Trend:
One of the largest shoe clusters in Uzbekistan will appear in Karakalpakstan region, where shoes using Italian technology will be produced, Trend reports with reference the Uzcharmsanoat Association.
Karakalpakstan will soon become one of the centers of the leather and footwear industry of Uzbekistan. It is planned to develop the industry in the format of a cluster, which will include 16 investment projects totaling $15.5 million, the report said.
"The shoe cluster will include a full production cycle from slaughter of cattle and leather processing to the production of modern men's, women's and children's shoes, as well as leather goods, made taking into account global trends," the Uzcharmsanoat Association reported.
The central link in the new cluster should be the Orient Technology joint venture located in Nukus city. The cluster will be organized on the basis of this business entity.
It is planned to implement new projects on the basis of the enterprise, including the organization of finished leather production, increasing the plant’s capacity with the installation of new modern equipment from Italy, and the production of leather shoes from local raw materials.
By the end of August 2019, the plant’s capacity will allow to process 8,400 tons of leather raw materials per year. By the same time, production of finished leather and production of shoes in the amount of 300,000 pairs per year will be launched.
Construction work is already underway, and Italian equipment for casting shoe soles, shearing, carding machines and longboats for the production of linings made of natural fur have been purchased. The company will establish production of finished leather and leather products of European quality, competitive in the world market.
The cluster, in addition to Orient Technology, shall include 11 modern automated enterprises for slaughtering livestock, two enterprises for tailoring shoes, as well as centers for the collection and preparation of leather raw materials.
It is expected that when the cluster reaches full production capacity, the annual output will be increased to 800,000 pairs of shoes, 35,000 units of leather goods and 145 million square decimeters of finished leather. More than 1000 new jobs will be created.
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