Azernews.Az

Romanian Adrem Invest Srl. will build a plant for vacuum liquid steel production through the reconstruction of the integrated steel processing unit at the Uzbek Metallurgical Plant (Uzmetkombinat) with a total cost of $17.1 million by late 2013.

Representative of the plant said that a $13.1 million contract was signed with Adrem Invest Srl , which will carry out the supply of technologies and equipment, construction and commissioning works and will train the personnel.

The project is being implemented in order to expand the assortment of products and to increase the export potential of Uzmetkombinat .

The project is planned to be financed by the Uzmetkombinat funds in the amount of $8.1 million and loans from the Joint Stock Commercial Mortgage Bank of Uzbekistan in the amount of $9 million.

The loans are issued for periods of five years including the 12-months grace period with an annual interest rate of 8 per cent.

Uzmetkombinat is the only ferrous metallurgy company in Central Asia that works with scrap metal and accounts for 90 per cent of the country's ferrous metallurgy production.

The plant was commissioned in 1956. Previously, it recycled scrap metal coming from all Central Asian republics. Currently, scrap metal is generated in the country as well as raw materials purchased outside the state under tolling.

The plant can produce 790,000 tons of steel and 760,000 tons of special iron.