DUSHANBE, January 18, Asia-Plus — The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade is not going to change the set domestic gas prices while TajikAzot is standing idle and Tojikcement refuse to pay for natural gas at new domestic prices.
Losses of Tajik-Cypriot JV TajikAzot (Sarband-based plant on producing mineral fertilizers) caused by 18 days of idleness owing to natural-gas cuts may reach 1 million somonis, the TajikAzot general director Tohirkhon Ghoziyev said.
According to him, the enterprise has stood idle since January 1and idleness may last for long time. Ghoziyev noted that the joint venture had refused gas supplies following increase in the domestic prices of natural gas.
“The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT) has met us half-way and decreased the price of natural gas for us from $136 per 1,000 cubic meters to $129,” said Ghoziyev, “However, this price is also unacceptable for us and we are forced to stand idle; we hope the new rates will be reviewed and our wishes will be taken into consideration.” According to him, the price of natural gas for industrial enterprises in the country should be set at the rate of $110 per 1,000 cubic meters.
We will recall that Uzbekistan’s decision to raise the price of imported natural gas from $55 to$100 per 1,000 cubic meters has led to a 69.7 percent increase in the domestic price of natural gas in Tajikistan. Starting from January 1, the price of natural gas for the public, enterprises and organizations, except TajikAzot and Tojikcement, was set the rate of $136 per 1,000 cubic meters. For TajikAzot and Tojikcement, the gas price was set at the rate of $129 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Meanwhile, Muzaffar Hakimov, engineer-in-chief with Tojikcement (Dushanbe cement plant), said in an interview with Asia-Plus that plant is currently receiving gas supplies regularly. “However, we refuse to pay for gas at the new price because this price is unprofitable,” said Hakimov, “We will continue talks with the Ministry of Economic Development over the possibility of decreasing the gas price,” said the Tojikcement official, “We cannot stop the production because in this case, we will incur serious losses and many of our employees will be left jobless.” According to him, the gas transportation rate throughout the world is not higher than 1.1 cents “while in Tajikistan this rate is exceeded ten times.”
Representatives from a MoEDT say that all wishes of TajikAzot and Tojikcement have been taken in account but it’s not clear yet whether their applications will change the situation or not.
“The government has already endorsed the set rates and nobody has the right to review or change them until the next quarter, when they will probably change following possible changes in the USD exchange rate,” Nazar Odinayev, head of the MoEDT antimonopoly department, said.
According to him, every year in early January, when new prices of natural gas are considered and set, industrial enterprises, especially TajikAzot and Tojikcement, bring forward their payment conditions. “But the point is that the rates are set with taking into account the purchase cost of natural gas and expenses on delivery of it to Tajikistan,” said Odinayev, “The prices may change only in the event of any acute necessity, but there is no such necessity now.”
