DUSHANBE, July 29, 2015, Asia-Plus — The Tajik Aluminum Company reportedly plans to double aluminum production.
“TALCO plans to produce 190,000 tons of primary aluminum this year, which is 52 percent more than in 2014,” Tajik Minister of Economic Development and Trade Nematullo Hikmatullozoda announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 29.
“Next year, TALCO plans to produce 270,000 tons of primary aluminum,” the minister said, noting that TALCO together with its foreign partners is currently engaged in upgrading its equipment.
According to him, TALCO has produced 64,000 tons of primary aluminum over the first six months of this year, which was 0.6 percent more than in the same period last year.
In 2014, Tajikistan produced about 125,000 tons of primary aluminum. In 2013, the smelter produced 220,000 tons. In 2012, the smelter produced 272,500 tons, which was a 2.0% decrease compared with the output in 2011.
The decrease in production was attributed to TALCO’s need for modernization as well as to production interruptions related to the shortages of natural gas in the country.
According to the Customs Service under the Government of Tajikistan, has exported 61,200 tons of primary aluminum over the first six months of this year, which was 3.6 percent more than in the same period last year.
In January-June 2014, Tajikistan exported 60,000 tons primary aluminum.
The Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) is one of the ten largest aluminum smelters in the world and provides up to 70% of the country’s foreign currency earnings, consuming 40% of the country’s electrical power. TALCO is wholly owned by the Tajik government. Tajikistan does not mine alumina but imports the raw material through tolling arrangements.
Construction of the Tajik aluminum plant (TadAZ) began in 1972, and the first pouring of aluminum took place on March 31, 1975. On April 3, 2007, TadAZ was officially renamed to TALCO – Tajik Aluminum Company. The Tajik aluminum smelter had the capacity to produce 517,000 metric tons per year.
