Korean firm to build 500 million euros carbamide plant in Azerbaijan
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR signed on Wednesday a contract with Korean Samsung Engineering Co Ltd on designing and construction of a carbamide plant in Sumgayit, some 30 kilometers north of the capital Baku.
The contract was signed by SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev and Samsung Engineering president and CEO Ki-Seok Park.
Earlier, Samsung Engineering won the open tender for the construction of the plant in Azerbaijan.
Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd. was established as the first engineering firm in Korea in 1970. The Seoul-based company provides a full range of engineering services, including feasibility studies, design, procurement, construction, and commissioning in over 40 countries worldwide.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Abdullayev said the plant construction will cost nearly 500 million Euros excluding taxes. The construction work will be completed within 33 months.
After commissioning and all necessary tests by Samsung Engineering, the plant will be given to SOCAR on the turn-key basis.
The new plant will be located in Azerikimya industrial area in Sumgayit. The designed capacity of the plant will be about 600,000 carbamide per year.
The plant construction will be funded through the state budget, as it will be built within the State Program on Reliable Food Supplies for the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2008-2015.
The plant is to be commissioned in late 2014 - early 2015. Around 3,000 seasonal workers are expected to be provided with jobs during the construction work. After commissioning, about 500 people will work at the plant.
To implement this project, SOCAR has carried out a research in this field for three years. In this regard, SOCAR experts studied the experience of other countries that have already established carbamide production. In particular, SOCAR specialists visited Egypt, Iran and Jordan while preparing the project.
According to the experience of other countries, the payback of carbamide producing enterprises is about 6-7 years.
SOCAR carbamide plant in Georgia
SOCAR also plans to build plant for carbamide production on the territory of Free Industrial Zone (FIZ) in Kulevi in Georgia.
According to Abdullayev, Samsung Engineering will prepare a feasibility study of the project on construction of the plant for the production of carbamide and ammonia in Georgia.
The Korean company will also become involved in attracting funds for the Georgian project. Under the feasibility study, the company will determine the exact proportion of carbamide and ammonia production.