BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 29. Construction of the Hungarian Hell Energy plant on aluminum beverage can production, valued at $211 million, in Azerbaijan's Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) will start in the second half of 2024, an informed source told Trend.
"Registration and procedural issues regarding this project will be completed by spring. Construction of the plant may commence in the summer. The construction process itself may take a year and a half. At the initial stage, the annual capacity will be 415 million aluminum cans per year, with further growth to 700–800 units per year," the source noted.
According to the source, the current equity participation in the project is as follows: Hungarian Hell Energy owns 51 percent of the share capital, while the "Azerbaijan Investment Company" (AIC) holds 49 percent.
"However, AIC will soon sell 20 percent of the shares, retaining 29 percent of the shares in this project," the source emphasized.
At the same time, approximately 10 percent of the shares from AIC's stake in this project are designated for the Azeraluminium company.
"Azeraluminium will hold at least 10 percent of the shares in the Hell Energy plant, as it will be providing the raw materials for the production of aluminum cans," the source explained.
To note, an agreement on building the mentioned plant was signed between AIC and Hungary’s Hell Energy Company on July 10, 2023.
The project aims to generate over 300 job opportunities.
Hungary's investment in this enterprise will be the first significant investment by this European country in Azerbaijan's non-oil sector.
In the oil sector, Hungary is represented by MOL, which has already invested about $2 billion in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli project and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.