MINEX Forum

Tag: Uzbekistan

  • Uzbekistan to build large chemical complex in Karakul Free Economic Zone

    Uzbekistan to build large chemical complex in Karakul Free Economic Zone

    The construction project of the ‘Karakulkimiyo’ chemical complex for the production of nitrogen fertilizers became a resident of Uzbekistan’s Karakul Free Economic Zone, Trend reports.

    According to an official source, the Ferkensco Management Limited company, which is implementing the project, has received a 50-hectare plot in this zone for long-term use.

    The chemical complex, which will become one of the largest industrial enterprises in the Bukhara region, will annually produce up to 495,000 tons of ammonia and 594,000 tons of urea.

    The project partners are the Enter Engineering company as well as the Swiss Casale SA company, which, within the framework of this project, provides services for the design and provision of a license to use its own manufacturing technology for this type of chemical product.

    Furthermore, the construction stage of ‘Karakulkimiyo’ is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023, the opening of production is January 1, 2026, and the total investment is $600 million.

    Ferkensco Management Limited is an investment company that creates a chain of production of phosphorous, nitrogen, and potash fertilizers in Uzbekistan. Among the company’s projects is the construction of chemical complexes in Samarkand city, as well as in Bukhara, Navoi, and Surkhandarya regions.

  • Senators of Uzbekistan rejected the Law “On Subsoil”

    Senators of Uzbekistan rejected the Law “On Subsoil”

    Kumtor Gold Company has always given the highest priority to environmental and sustainable development issues.

    In this regard, on behalf of the country’s leadership, the company initiated a project to build a modern processing plant in the city of Tokmak (Chui region), aimed at processing and repairing obsolete truck tires, including tires for heavy vehicles with a load capacity of up to 180 tons, as well as aviation and other types truck tires.

    The project is currently operating at the test mode stage. Upon completion of all testing processes and obtaining the necessary permits, it will be launched at full capacity. To implement this project, modern equipment from Germany and Russia will be used. The process of recycling old truck tires will include the separation of components – rubber, metal elements and textiles, which will be treated accordingly. The resulting materials will be reused in industrial processes to create new products.

    The main goal of this project is to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and mitigate the negative impact on the environment. In addition, recycling of old truck tires will save the company’s resources by up to 30-40% when renewing tires.

    The company noted: “We value nature and strive to preserve it for future generations. Recycling old truck tires is a very important step in this direction.”

    The processing plant in Tokmok will not only provide new jobs, but will also become the foundation for the development of an environmentally responsible industry in the country. Kumtor Gold Company is committed to making this project a successful example of waste recycling and disposal in the mining industry, contributing to the conservation of our planet.

  • The delegation headed by the Minister of Export of Great Britain visited AMMK

    The delegation headed by the Minister of Export of Great Britain visited AMMK

    A delegation headed by Parliamentary Deputy Secretary of State of Great Britain, Minister of Export Malcolm Offord arrived at Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine JSC of the Ministry of Mining and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

    The delegation also included Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to Uzbekistan Timothy Smart, responsible persons in the field of trade and investment, as well as representatives of a number of leading companies.

    The guests visited the observation decks of the Kalmakyr mine and the Yeshlik I deposit, the directorate of the copper concentrator-3 under construction. During the meeting with the management held in the executive office, the parties discussed the issue of establishing cooperation.

    Also, during the event, representatives of companies such as “Weir Minerals” and “United Concrete Canvas” made a presentation about the activities of their enterprises.

  • Uzbekistan’s economic stability provides immense opportunities for Indian investors

    Uzbekistan’s economic stability provides immense opportunities for Indian investors

    India’s key partner in Central Asia – Uzbekistan – has been maintaining stable economic growth and the re-election of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has provided tremendous opportunities for prospective Indian investors in the resource rich country.

    Several sectors in Uzbekistan are open to foreign investments and India is one of the sought after partners. Regular flights between Delhi and Tashkent could further contribute to growth momentum of the Uzbek economy. Political stability of Uzbekistan coupled with predictable policies could be point of attraction for Indian investors.

    India and Uzbekistan signed a Joint Statement in September 2019 to set up a joint feasibility study for entering into negotiations for a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). It is hoped that PTA could be signed soon and that would open up India’s entry into Kyrgyzstan as well as Tajikistan. Notable Indian investments in Uzbekistanby Indian companies include those in the field of pharmaceuticals, amusement parks, automobile components, and hospitality industry. Indian majors like GMR have expressed interest in investment in airports, development of air corridor, Navoi cargo complex in Uzbekistan; KDAH (Ambani Hospital) from Mumbai has expressed interest in setting up a specialty hospital. Investments in various fields, including pharma and healthcare, textiles and auto components, agriculture and food processing, and mining and jewellery sector are in various stages of discussion. In the field of education in October 2019, AmityUniversity and Sharda University opened campuses in Tashkent and Andijan respectively. Indian institutions like iCreate are actively cooperating with Uzbek counterparts for promoting start-up ecosystems in Uzbekistan and training entrepreneurs in setting up incubators. Indian companies like Dev IT have entered into bilateral cooperation in field research, technologies, start- ups and innovations with budding Uzbek partners. India’s National Thermal Power Corporation is also participating in various tenders including solar PV power plants and consultancy assignment for gas projects in Uzbekistan. India and Uzbekistan have set up National Coordination Committees to oversee the implementation of mutually agreed projects and initiatives.India has granted market access for lemon and melon from Uzbekistan. Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) for plum and sweet cherries have been completed and is further under process. Uzbekistan has granted market access for banana and mango from India. PRA for Soyabean oil cake has been completed and additional information has been sought. Request for PRA from India include wheat, wheat flour, potato, pomegranate and pomegranate seeds.Indian investors can get further impetus from the fact that Uzbekistan has maintained high growth dynamics during the first half of the year despite an unstable external environment. Uzbekistan’s economy is expected to maintain stability through the year and is expecting higher investments from India. Today Uzbekistan provides predictable financial environment and friendly people besides regular connectivity to further promote business ties. Inflation in Uzbekistan continues to slow down. In January-June, prices increased by 3.5%, while in the same period in 2022 by 6.5%. In annual terms, inflation slowed to 9% (in June 2022 – 12.2%). Food inflation slowed from 8.9% in January-June 2022 to 4.1% over the same period this year. Similarly, the growth of prices for non-food products slowed from 5.8% to 3.1%, for paid services from 3.3% to 2.9%, according to official data. Investments from centralized sources in the first half of the year increased by 2.4%, in particular, at the expense of budget funds by 3.6%. Foreign investments and loans guaranteed by the government increased by 6.9%. Industrial production in the first six months of this year grew at a faster pace compared to the same period in 2022 – 5.6% versus 5.1%, respectively.The main factors of economic growth are due to the timely adoption of urgent measures to support entrepreneurs, as a result of which the growth of the manufacturing industry amounted to 6.3% (5.9% for the first half of 2022), the mining industry by 0.2% (-0.5%).In agriculture, in particular in crop production and animal husbandry, there is an acceleration in the growth rate of output to 3.8% (in January-June 2022 – 2.7%). Foreign trade turnover in the 1st half of the year increased by 19.4% to $29.2 billion. Exports increased by 23% to $12.1 billion, imports by 17% to $17 billion.

    The export growth is due to an increase in the supply of machinery and transport equipment to foreign markets by almost 60%, gold by 47%, services by 41%, food by 33%, various finished products by 25%. At the same time, exports of non-food raw materials decreased by 26%, fuel and energy resources by 20%.

  • AMMC and Navoiyuran: cooperation in the field of digital transformation

    AMMC and Navoiyuran: cooperation in the field of digital transformation

    On August 17 of this year, the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Plant was visited by a delegation of representatives of the state enterprise “Navoiyuran” engaged in activities in the field of digitalization.

    In the executive office of the plant, a meeting was held between the Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC “Almalyk MMC” for digitalization Abdulla Azizov, profile specialists of the plant with representatives of the state enterprise “Navoiyuran”.

    During the meeting, the guests were provided with information about the work carried out as part of the digital transformation of the AGMK. According to A. Azizov, during the past year, the plant implemented 48 projects (23 of them planned, 25 unplanned) in this direction. These are projects related to the improvement of business process management systems, automation of the mining and transport complex and production automation. This year, more than 40 projects and other tasks are planned to be implemented. Of these, 17 have already been implemented (business process management – 5, infrastructure and cybersecurity – 4, production management – 2 and process automation – 6). For example, in order to improve the efficiency of the management system and digitalization of office work in the department of road transport, an information system for managing vehicles and logistics (Transport Management System) was introduced, through which more than 1,000 units of vehicles and equipment are monitored. Also, the submission and acceptance of applications for transport is carried out completely electronically.

    In accordance with the concept of paperless office work (Paperless work) and a unified identification system, the AMMC introduced the E-Talon information system, within which more than 36,000 employees were provided with new ID-cards. As a result, the amount of paper work has been reduced, and the reporting process now takes less than 7 times less time. More than 20 electronic templates have been created in the information system “Journals”. The system made it possible to keep 70% of paper journals in electronic form and analyze the data.

    Thanks to the information system of interactive dashboards (BI), the speed of automatic collection and processing of “online” information of production and business processes, as well as various automated systems, has increased by 80%. 6 types of paper reports were digitized, which reduced the time of their formation by 3 times.

    Also introduced: digital archive (paper consumption reduced by 25%); project management system (25% more efficient management, analysis and control); a new digital radio station at the Yoshlik I quarry (100 vehicles and 35 workers are provided with radio communications); IP telephony in the Kochbulak, Semguron and Kairagach mines (10 km of fiber optic communication lines have been laid).

    In order to automate production processes and use modern information systems, 27 modern digital strain gauges were installed at the copper processing plant. This made it possible to achieve an accuracy of measuring the weight of ore in the technological process up to 99.8%. Also, in order to automate the technological process of the seventh monosection, 405 instrumentation and 26 control cabinets were installed. Adjusted and put into operation 320 dosing pumps and 14 new tanks for reagents.

    Together with specialists from Metso-Outotec and Engineering Dobersek, the uninterrupted operation of the control system, instrumentation of the Vanyukov furnace and the sulfuric acid shop of the copper smelter was ensured.

    As part of the introduction of automatic control of mills (SAU-3M) in the Khandiza mining department, instrumentation cabinets were completely updated, which made it possible for the operator to control deviations from the technological regulations and monitor the state of the technological equipment.

    During the visit, the guests also visited the Kalmakyr mining department, a copper processing plant, where they could personally observe the operation of all information technology systems introduced as part of digitalization.

    Thus, the representatives of the delegation were familiarized in detail with the ERP, SCADA, LIMS, SAP systems, as well as programs for monitoring and analyzing production processes and data.

    – “Today we managed to witness the active work carried out at the AMMC in the field of information technology. Currently, our company pays great attention to the processes of digitalization of production. During the visit, we managed to learn a lot of new and useful things for ourselves. We also decided to purchase software systems from AGMK for their further implementation at home. Another important point that we drew attention to is that the processes of digitalization at the AGMK are proceeding quite quickly. And it pays off at a relatively low cost. We plan to further strengthen our cooperation with the plant,” Khasan Khaydarov, Deputy General Director for Transformation of Navoiyuran Group of Companies, shared his impressions of the visit.

    It should be noted that the purpose of this visit is to ensure the implementation of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated July 14, 2022 No. PP-319 “On measures to increase the volume of production, processing of uranium and the transformation of the State Enterprise Navoiyuran in 2022-2030”.

  • Renewable energy – focus of EBRD’s activities in Uzbekistan – Trend News Agency

    Renewable energy – focus of EBRD’s activities in Uzbekistan – Trend News Agency

    BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 16. Renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power, is the most important aspect of the EBRD’s [European Bank for Reconstruction and Development] activities in Uzbekistan, a representative of EBRD, Anton Usov told Trend.

    “Last year alone, the EBRD arranged two syndicated loans totaling $520 million to assist in the construction and commissioning of two wind farms with a total installed capacity of 1 GW in the Bukhara region. This landmark financing represents EBRD’s largest renewable energy project in its operational regions,” he said.

    Furthemore, Usov also noted that the bank also arranged a $74 million financing package for the development, construction and operation of a new 500 MW wind farm in the Navoi region of Uzbekistan.

    “It was the first project in Central Asia to use the Identiflight system, which is capable of detecting and tracking birds that are in danger of colliding with turbines. The system allows to start automatic shutdown,” he added.

    According to the EBRD representative, in 2022, the EBRD and the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation of Uzbekistan agreed to jointly develop a national program on methane emissions.

    “This project will be a key planning tool to achieve a 30 percent reduction in methane emissions by 2030 under the Global Methane Commitment (GMP). Last year, Uzbekistan became only the second country in Central Asia to join GMP,” Usov said.