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Azerbaijan's first industrial explosives plant, built in Ganja by AzerBlast LLC, a subsidiary of AzerGold Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC), has started operating in test mode, Azernews reports.

On December 28, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev, Head of State Service on Property Issues under the Ministry of Economy, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of "AzerGold" CJSC Metin Eynullayev, Deputy Minister of Economy Samed Bashirli, Head of Ganja City Executive Power Niyazi Bayramov, Chairman of the Board of "AzerGold" CJSC Zakir Ibrahimov, members of the "DM Service" company, which is a private partner of "AzerBlast" LLC, as well as representatives of the Ministries of Ecology and Natural Resources, Economy, and Azerbaijan Investment Holding, were present at the event.

The participants of the event were familiarised with the conditions created at the "AzerBlast" LLC enterprise, established based on a public-private partnership model, as well as the need to meet the growing demand for civil explosives in our country and eliminate dependence on imports.

Rizvan Bakhshiyev, General Director of AzerBlast LLC, providing information on the existing capabilities and production technologies of the plant, said that the only civil explosives production enterprise in Azerbaijan at present will produce ANFO (types of explosives intended for use in dry environments) and H-ANFO (types of explosives intended for use in wet environments) explosives used in mining and construction industries.

It was noted that the construction of the plant with a total area of 5,665 square metres began in January 2023, with the construction process taking 12 months. The production line of the plant is organised according to the technological design of Turkish HTD Kimya və Mühendislik A.Ş and uses equipment manufactured in Germany, the UK, and Turkiye.

Drawing attention to the fact that at present the demand for industrial explosives in our country is satisfied by imports, it was emphasised that with the start of operation of the plant in full mode, the demand for industrial explosives in Azerbaijan will be satisfied by local production, and the dependence on imports will be eliminated.

Thus, at the initial stage of operation, taking into account local demand and export potential, the plant will produce 14,000 tonnes of ANFO and H-ANFO explosives annually. Taking into account the mining potential of Garabagh and East Zangazur, liberated from occupation under the leadership of the victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, large-scale construction projects, as well as the wider export potential, it is planned to increase the plant's annual production to a maximum of 31,500 tonnes in the next phase.

To this end, the enterprise, which will start work at the initial stage with a staff of 35 people, plans to increase the number of employees to 65 during the active production period.

Taking into account that the plant is a potentially hazardous production site, the plant has fully ensured technical safety by meeting the requirements of local and international legislation, and production is organised following high environmental norms and standards.

It should be noted that AZN 15 mln has been invested in the project of the plant for the production of industrial explosives. These funds were invested by the founders of "AzerBlast" LLC without additional burden on the state budget. The purpose of the construction of the plant in Ganja is its location near the main mining industrial centre of our country, as well as making an additional contribution to the increase of economic activity and employment in the region.

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