DUSHANBE, October 5, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan’s the only enterprise on production of mineral fertilizers, TojikAzot, is not in operation now, and has incurred losses of 45,200 somonis (some US$13,300) so far for standing idle.
Deputy Industries Minister, Turakhon Amirkhonov, said that enforced idleness had been cased by irregular supply of natural gas.
“During this year, for irregular gas supplies the plant has not worked totaling 165 days and now it is not in operation for the same reason,” said Amirkhonov, “TojikAzot is not in debt to Tojikgaz (Tajik state gas concern); on the contrary, it has made prepayment in an amount of more than one million somonis for natural gas that it has not yet received, and Tojikgaz now owes this amount to the plant.”
According to him, TojikAzot has failed to produce even 80,000 of mineral fertilizers this year, while its rate capacity is 180,000 tons of fertilizers a year. “The plant is ready to pay for having natural gas at the rate of 23,000 cubic meters per hour,” said the official, “However it is still impossible.”
The Khimprom plant in Khatlon and Farfor (chine-wear) enterprise in Tursunzoda also stand idle for lack of natural gas.
According to data of the Ministry of Industry, some enterprises of the light industry running on natural gas have also incurred considerable losses.
“Thus, losses of Tajik-Vietnamese joint venture Rohi Abreshim (Silk Road), specializing in processing of raw silk and production of finished silk articles, have exceeded 6 million somonis, and losses of Tajik-Korean joint venture Kabool-Tajik Textiles have exceeded 200,000 somonis,” Amirkhonov said.
He added that further destiny of Tajik enterprises depends on results of cooperation between Tojikgaz and Uztransgaz (Uzbek gas supply company).
Specialists from the Ministry of Industry expect the gas supplies problems to be resolved in the near future because the ministry has repeatedly applied to Tojikgaz on this subject.
