Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan will launch exports of tractors soon, Belarusian Ambassador Nikolay Paskevich said during a visit to the northwestern city of Ganja last week.
He said an Azeri-Belarusian joint venture would be set up at the Ganja Automobile Plant, Azerbaijan's major carmaker.
The launch of the enterprise, which is currently in the process of legalization, will facilitate increasing the plant's production capacity. Upgrade work has been tackled at a new area earmarked for the production of tractors. As soon as the operations are completed, the joint venture will launch sales of agricultural machines to third countries. The assembled tractors will be mainly exported to Central Asian states Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, neighboring Georgia and Russia's borderline regions.
According to the ambassador, 426 tractors were assembled at the plant in 2007. This year's production is to be brought to 1,000 machines. Half of the tractors are assembled to state order.
"If work at the plant continues at the same pace, the production volume may rise to 8,000 tractors after the JV is commissioned," Paskevich said, adding that this would allow to provide 300 people with jobs.
The Ganja plant was put into operation in November 2004. Small OKA brand cars were assembled at the plant in the past. Currently, it manufactures trucks and heavy-utility vehicles, including six types of tractors, under a contract signed with the Minsk automobile and tractor plants.