Almalyk MMC begins deliveries of products to Afghanistan
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
Uzbekistan considers Afghanistan as a country with which it is possible to conduct a wide and diversified trade. For Uzbekistan, Afghanistan is a very interesting and promising market. Uzbek products in this market are already beginning to appear.
Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine has begun deliveries of products to Afghanistan, the press service of the company reported.
"Recently, a trial supply of gray cement was sent to Afghanistan - products of Sherabad cement plant of Almalyk MMC. Without exaggeration, this was a historic event. First, a new country appeared on the geographical map of export deliveries of our plant. Secondly, among the products, sent abroad, cement appeared," said export specialist of Almalyk MMC Rustam Khalilov.
As he noted, this became possible after the commissioning of a new cement plant in the Sherabad district of the Surkhandarya region with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons of cement in 2018. The new plant was built in a mountainous area and covers an area of 55 hectares.
A building for crushing limestone with a capacity of 800 tons per hour, a bunker for the distribution of raw materials, a vertical crusher, a clinker cooling facility and a multi-tier heating cyclone, warehouses for the storage of refractory materials and cement, a large circular stove, a clinker cooling chamber and other objects were built on its territory.
In addition, facilities for cleaning household waste, water, a recreation complex for workers, a cinema, sports grounds, a modern dining room, a hostel, a bathhouse, a laundry, gas and electricity networks, a new railway line, and a highway have been reconstructed.
The activities of the southernmost cement plant in the country will allow Uzbekistan to increase the export of this building material to Afghanistan, where major projects are being carried out to restore the residential and production facilities and transport infrastructure.
"The country's leadership set the task of the Almalyk MMC to sell 500,000 tons of grey cement to Afghanistan this year. As part of the contract signed with the trading company Hamid Company LTD, the first 15 cars with 960 tons of products were sent to Mazar-i-Sharif station recently Sherabad Cement Plant," said Khalilov.
He also added that this is only the beginning. In the future, exports to Afghanistan should increase and, as the plant hopes that partners will be interested in other types of products manufactured by Almalyk MMC.
Almalyk MMC, which has six mines, five enrichment complexes, three metallurgical plants, mainly export-oriented copper pipes, and cement producer Jizzakh and Sherobod cement factories, are equipped with state-of-the-art vehicles, with seven motorized vehicles, the Railroad Transport Administration, which incorporates three railway workshops, and about 40 auxiliary facilities, workshops and departments.
In July 2018, JSC "Almalyk MMC" was transferred to the trust management of the “SFI Management Group” remaining at state disposal.
Diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan were established on October 13, 1992.
The trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan amounted to $286.7 million in January-June 2018.
The two countries are interested in increasing the volume of mutual deliveries, including products of the pharmaceutical, chemical, automotive and textile industries.
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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