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Azerbaijan to minimize carbamide imports

15 March 2019 14:00 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan to minimize carbamide imports

By Trend

The construction of the SOCAR Carbamide Plant in Azerbaijan will minimize the import of urea fertilizers, Khayal Jafarov, director of the plant, said at the international conference "Argus Mineral Fertilizers 2019 - Production and Logistics in the Caspian and Black Sea region" in Baku, Trend reports.

He noted that about 90 percent of the carbamide produced in the world is used in agriculture, adding that it will be the same in Azerbaijan.

According to him, since the mid-20th century, Azerbaijan has become one of the main players in the chemical industry in the former USSR, especially in fertilizer production.

"Production ceased with the fall of the USSR. However, given the centuries-old agricultural traditions in Azerbaijan, the government made the decision to construct a carbamide plant," Jafarov said.

He noted that the plant was built as part of 2 state programs – the first being the Food Security Program of Azerbaijan, one of the main tasks of which “was to minimize imports of carbamide fertilizers," and the second being the Industry Development Program.

The SOCAR Carbamide Plant, built on the territory of the Sumgait chemical industrial park, was commissioned on January 16.

The beginning of production at the SOCAR Carbamide Plant will eliminate the need to import nitrogen fertilizers, thereby reducing the country's foreign currency expenditure. While using 435 million cubic meters of natural gas as raw materials, the plant is capable of producing 650,000-660,000 tons of carbamide products.

About 70 percent of the production volume accounts for export. This will enable the country to receive additional income worth up to $160 million annually. The commissioning of this plant will play an important role in the development of agriculture in Azerbaijan.

Carbamide fertilizers have the highest nitrogen content, therefore, they are considered the highest quality nitrogen fertilizer.

The demand for carbamide is connected with its low cost, economical transportation, convenient use, which contributes to high yields in agriculture. This product is also widely used in the production of other chemicals and pharmaceutics.

Presently, the SOCAR Carbamide Plant is the biggest project in the country, implemented in the non-oil sector, its total cost is about 800 million euros.

The project was initially financed through the funds allocated from the state budget. During the construction of the plant, a number of international banks allocated funds in the amount of 500 million euros through the state guarantees.

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