Uzbekistan Expands Basalt Production

On April 8, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the Basalt Uzbekistan cluster in the Jizzakh region. Seven years has passed since the region began extracting basalt and today, the cluster processes 177 thousand tons of stone per year and manufactures 42 different products. In addition to basalt wool and fibre, local enterprises employ technology from Germany, France, Italy, and the Czech Republic, to provide mesh and reinforcement and insulation materials for the construction industry. In 2023, 80% of the 45 thousand tons of goods produced, were exported to the USA, Great Britain, Poland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Six major projects worth $498 million and employing 1.7 thousand currently operate across 300 hectares in the region. Due to be launched next year with imported equipment valued at $145 million, a new enterprise will produce 25 thousand tons of basalt fiber and fabric per annum, 90% of which is destined for export. The president has now set the task for the instigation of further plants with investments of $500 million to manufacture 20 types of products and create two thousand new jobs.