DUSHANBE, November 12, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) has consumed more than 4.7 billion kWh of electricity in January-September this year, according to the report of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on financial and economic activities of the country’s enterprises over the first nine months of this year said.
A totaled included more than 4.044 billion kWh of Tajikistan’s electrical power and 667.8 million kWh of electricity imported from Turkmenistan.
According to data of Barqi Tojik (Tajik electric systems) power holding, Tajik power plants have generated 10.855 billion kWh of electrical power over the same nine-month period and 667.8 million kWh of electricity has been imported from Turkmenistan over the report period.
In the meantime, the MoF report says that increase in use of energy-saving technologies and alternative energy sources has allowed TALCO decreasing power consumption by 12.2 percent compared to January-September 2008. In January-September 2008, the Tajik aluminum smelter consumed more than 5.4 billion kWh of electricity, including more than 4.5 billion kWh of Tajik electrical power and 801 million kWh of Turkmen electricity.
The report notes that TALCO now owes 128.3 million somoni (equivalent to more than 29.5 million U.S. dollars) to Barqi Tojik.
Compared to January-September 2008, the plant has decreased production of crude aluminum by 11.7 percent, primary aluminum by 11.9 percent, half-cooked anodes by 6.6 percent, cooked anodes by 7.7 percent, and connected anodes by 10.2 percent, the report said.
The Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO), headquartered in Tursunzoda, runs the largest aluminum manufacturing plant in Central Asia, which is Tajikistan”s chief industrial asset.
The country has no native aluminum ore, so the raw material for the plant has to be imported.
Construction of the plant proper began in 1972, and the first pouring of aluminum took place on March 31, 1975.
Tajik aluminum smelter reportedly consumes 40% of the country”s electrical power. On April 3, 2007, TadAZ has been officially renamed to TALCO – Tajik Aluminum Company.
