Azerbaijan, Baku, June 13/ Trend, E.Ismayilov /
In July 2013 the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) plans to commission a new shipyard in the Alat settlement, the company said. Work on the plant's construction began almost a year ago, last August 2010.
The new shipyard will meet the needs of Azerbaijan and the Caspian countries. However, the ships which are to be built at the shipyard will primarily be used to upgrade Azerbaijan's own marine development.
According to the company, the new shipyard's area will reach 880,000 square meters, while the area of the closed production site will be roughly 75,000 square meters, with a berth-length of 1,300 meters.
The shipyard will initially provide some 1,000 people with jobs. After three to five years, the number of employees is expected reach 1,700-2,000, the source said.
The shipyard has received $450 million in investments for construction.
SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev, the head of the Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) Afgan Isayev and Keppel CEO Tong Chong Heong signed the agreement in December 2010 to build 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.
The plant's capacity is 25,000 tons of steel per year. The plant will annually manufacture four oil tankers with deadweight of 15,000 tons, as well as four marine maintenance and towing vessels. The project's main objective is to build vessels which are required to meet the needs of the Caspian Sea.