Uzbek car maker to build molding production facility
- Written by Dilshod Ashurmatov
TASHKENT, December 18 (TCA) — In 2013 Uzbek national automobile company Uzavtoprom will start building a molding production facility in the Angren Free Industrial Zone (FIZ) in the Tashkent region, according to the company.
The project costing US $80 million will provide for the establishment of the production of cylinder blocks and other cast iron pieces for automotive engines with a design capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year. The project will be implemented within two years.
Molding production is included in the list of Uzavtoprom’s investment projects for 2013 and subsequent years. The company has started negotiations with the suppliers of the necessary equipment.
The project will be financed by Uzavtoprom.
The project to produce cylinder blocks and other cast parts is being implemented as part of the production localization at the GM Powertrain Uzbekistan joint venture, established in 2008 by Uzavtoprom (48 percent) and General Motors (52 percent).
In November 2011 the joint venture commissioned the engine plant worth $521.8 million in Tashkent.
The JV produces engines ranging in volume from 1.2 to 1.5 liters. The design capacity of the plant is 225,000 engines per year. Presently, the raw materials and components for engines are almost exclusively imported.
GM Uzbekistan JV (Asaka, the Andijan region) will be the main consumer of the production of GM Powertrain Uzbekistan. Additionally, part of the production will be exported.
Investments in Uzbekistan’s automotive industry have reached $1.9 billion. The average level of localization in the industry is expected to reach 49.6 percent by the end of 2012.
