OREANDA-NEWS. September 30, 2008. By the end of 2008, Uzmetcombinat (Uzbek metal combine) plans to produce over 675 thousand tons of steel and 8 bln soums’ worth of consumer goods, reported the Official website www.investuzbekistan.uz.

The 2007-2011 Industrial Modernization, Technical and Technological Reequipping Program provides for implementation of 9 investment projects at the cost of about USD 50 mln. The projects will enable high steel and rolled ferrous metals production growth rates, increase in output of milling balls for the republican mining industry, developing production of new kinds of highly marketable products, demanded in home and foreign markets, rising quality and competitiveness of produced goods.

Three projects have been intended for the implementation in 2008. One of them is already finished at the enterprise. It is development of a new ash-heap processing technology in steelmaking, worth over USD 1.5 mln.

Others two will touch upon modernization of the electric steel furnace, that will increase its efficiency by 100 thousand tons and lift up its capacity to 650 thousand tons (cost of nearly USD 7.5 mln), and reconstruction of gas-cleaning installation for electric steel furnace, that will reduce harmful industrial air emissions (cost of over USD 2.1 mln).

In present conditions of rising prices for energy carriers a big work is being done to decrease expenses of power resources, electricity and natural gas consumption by 1 mln soums in commodity products. Within 2008 and 2011, the expense of power resources will be cut down from 0.61 to 0.54 ton of coal equivalent (tce), electricity consumption from 1.79 to 1.71 thousand kWh, natural gas from 0.34 to 0.28 thousand cubic meters.

As of today, Uzmetcombinat produces 34 names (more than 160 kinds) of consumer goods from high-quality rolled steel. Teapots, pans, buckets, cans, coffee pots, tanks, dishes and many other goods, produced in Bekabad, enjoy high popularity with domestic and foreign consumers. The goods are mainly sold to countries of Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran.

Basing on the program, by 2011 the aggregate production volume of the branch will make up about 322 bln soums, and the exports USD 130 mln. Today, the combine exports about 55-60% of produced steel and 5-10% of enameled steel tableware. The latter is being monthly produced in the amount of 150 thousand tons.

Uzmetcombinat is the only enterprise of ferrous metallurgy in Central Asia and plays a fundamental role in ferrous metallurgy of Uzbekistan. For the satisfaction of growing demands of the republican industry and export obligations, the combine intends to bring up the general manufacture of steel to 695 thousand tons by 2011.