Tajik open joint-stock company (OJSC) Faroz and the Chinese company Yu Liang Fu have started the construction of a new $21 million plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 mt of structural steel products, which will be the country's first plant of this type, Prime-Tass news agency has reported citing Tajikistan's industry ministry.
Accordingly, Yu Liang Fu intends to invest $8.4 million in the construction of the plant, mainly in the form of equipment, and is to receive 45 percent of the plant's total profit following its commissioning. The rest of the funds, i.e., $12.6 million, will be invested by Faroz.
At the first phase, the new plant will have a capacity of about 200,000 mt of structural steel products per year, which is planned to be increased to up to 400,000 mt in the future. The plant's products will be delivered to the domestic market, as well as exported particularly to Afghanistan.
According to the ministry, initially the plant will use scrap as raw material, later to be replaced by iron ore from the deposit located in Tajikistan's Varzob district.