Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 13 / Trend /
The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), the Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) and Singapore's Keppel Offshore and Marine signed a contract in Singapore today to establish a joint venture to build a new shipbuilding and repair plant in Baku.
SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev, AIC head Afgan Isayev and Keppel CEO Tong Chong Heong undersigned the agreement to establish the shipyard.
Under the contract, the equity division in the enterprise will be distributed as follows: SOCAR -- 65 percent, AIC -- 25 percent and Keppel -- 10 percent.
Keppel will also be entitled to increase its stake by another 10 percent over the next three years.
The foundation of the new plant was laid on March 19 with the participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The British Royal Haskoning company and the Dutch TT are performing the design activities. The preparatory work for construction was launched in parallel.
The pre-tender procedures have also been held and a list of companies that will participate in the tender have been prepared. The launch of the plant is scheduled for June 2013.
The plant's capacity is 25,000 tons of steel per year.
The plant will annually manufacture four oil tankers with a deadweight of 15,000 tons, as well as four marine maintenance and towing vessels.
The project's main objective is to build vessels required to meet the needs of the Caspian sea.