Industry - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kyrgyzstan Lacks Cement Amid Booming Construction

Kyrgyzstan is experiencing a cement shortage as new high-rise residential buildings and thousands of one- and two-story houses are being erected nationwide. This booming construction requires a large amount of cement, which has caused huge demand for the product. Local media quoted Syrgak Omorov, a representative of the Anti-monopoly Regulation Service, as saying that domestic producers are not capable of meeting the growing need. The Kant cement plant, the country’s largest cement producer, typically produces 600,000 tons of cement annually, but this year the production volume has already exceeded a million tons. According to Omorov, the Kant cement plant can produce up to 4,000 tons daily, but market demand is 5,000 tons. The official attributes the shortage to the unprecedented scale construction of housing and social facilities, such as schools. Earlier this month, the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, Akylbek Japarov, announced that the number of new schools and residential buildings constructed in Kyrgyzstan has exceeded Soviet-era figures. Japarov cited data from the National Statistical Committee, saying that 1.560 million square meters of residential housing were built in Kyrgyzstan when it was part of the Soviet Union in 1990. In 2023, independent Kyrgyzstan constructed 1.587 million square meters of housing. The highest numbers of secondary schools were built in 1968 and 1987 — 50 in each of those years, while in 2023, Kyrgyzstan built 105 new schools. Last week, TCA reported that Kyrgyzstan is also suffering from a shortage of laborers, with the head of the construction agency in the Kyrgyz Republic stating that the construction industry alone urgently needs at least 10,000 workers.

Armed Forces Industry Finance Investment Defense

Tajikistan Intends To Expand Production of Armored Vehicles and Special Equipment

Tajikistan's Sipar Group plans to significantly expand the production of armored vehicles and special equipment at its plant in the city of Tursunzade. The project is being implemented with a foreign investment of $15 million, allowing the company to produce 17 types of special vehicles. The plant is already actively developing its production capacity. The enterprise assembles military and civilian vehicles using components from the United Arab Emirates. Tajikistan's Minister of Industry and New Technologies, Sherali Kabir, said that armored vehicles in Tursunzade are manufactured using Canadian technologies; therefore, they are in no way inferior to their counterparts produced in other Central Asian countries. So far, the plant has produced a limited volume of vehicles, but given the demand, it plans to increase its production capacity significantly in the coming years. The project will also create more than a hundred new jobs, which will make an important contribution to the region's economic development. The plant's products are aimed not only at the domestic market, but also with the possibility of exporting to other Central Asian countries in mind, which would allow Tajikistan to strengthen its position in the international arena in the defense industry.

Rogun HPP Finance Hydro power Investments Energy Economy Industry World Bank

World Bank Considers Loan for Tajikistan’s Rogun Hydropower Plant

Tajikistan's Deputy Minister for Finance, Yusuf Majidi, has announced that the World Bank will consider financing the development of the Rogun hydroelectric power plant. According to him, the bank can allocate $650 million for this project in September this year. $250 million has been allocated as preferential loans; starting in 2025, the station's construction will be financed by other investments. Majidi specified that the construction of the hydroelectric power plant (HPP) is also financed by the Islamic Development Bank and Arab funds; according to preliminary data, this is about $550 million. When the Rogun HPP reaches full capacity, about 70% of the electricity produced will be exported to other Central Asian countries. According to the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD), financing the Rogun HPP is one of the main risks to Tajikistan’s budget and debt sustainability. The EFSD notes that a possible increase in the cost of hydropower construction could reduce funding for other critical infrastructure projects and social spending. Rogun is located 110km from Dushanbe on the Vakhsh River, and is the largest in the region. Its construction began in 1976, but it was destroyed after the collapse of the USSR. Later, Tajikistan continued work on the construction of hydroelectric power plants at its own expense and with the help of international funds and organizations, and so far, two of the six units with a capacity of 600 MW provided for in the project have been put into operation. The third is scheduled for 2025.

Finance Investments EBRD Export/Import Economy Strategy Industry Critical Minerals

EBRD Supports Kazakhstan’s Critical Raw Materials Sector

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it is making its first direct equity investment in the graphite and critical raw materials sector in Central Asia by acquiring a stake in Sarytogan Graphite Limited, an Australian Securities Exchange-listed company involved in the exploration of the Sarytogan graphite deposit in the Karaganda region of central Kazakhstan. The EBRD’s investment of AUD 5 million (€3 million), representing a 17.36% shareholding in the company, and will finance Sarytogan Graphite’s development program, including preparing a feasibility study and meeting its working capital needs. According to the EU's critical raw materials (CRM) classification, graphite is a CRM mineral with a wide range of applications. It is used for producing electric vehicle batteries, the electric power industry, and metallurgy. The Sarytogan graphite deposit is one of the largest known graphite deposits in the world, with the potential to become one of the main suppliers of natural graphite in the region and beyond. The project aligns with the EU-Kazakhstan strategic partnership on raw materials, batteries, and renewable hydrogen. According to the country's Ministry of Industry and Construction, Kazakhstan produces 19 of the 34 critical raw materials listed by the European Union. Kazakhstani manufacturers currently supply the European market with metal and chemical products, including beryllium, tantalum, titanium, phosphorus, and ammonium metavanadate. Kazakhstan is among the world’s ten largest copper producers. It has the potential to produce battery raw materials such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium, which are essential for producing electric vehicles.

Export/Import Economy Uzbekistan Industry Gold mining in central asia Finance Investments

Uzbekistan’s Reserves Reach $37.4 billion

As of August 1, Uzbekistan's official reserves reached $37.4 billion, 1.06 billion dollars more than a month ago, according to a Kun.uz report based on data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan. This reserve value is a record indicator for the period after 2018 when data disclosure began. Still, $37.4 billion is enough to cover 12 months of imports. The increase in the value of international reserves is mainly due to the continued rise in gold reserves and prices. The physical volume of gold in reserves increased by 310,000 ounces (9.64 tons) to 12.05 million ounces (374.8 tons), and the value reached $29.15 billion (+$1.84 billion). According to the Central Bank, the impact of the increase in the price of gold from $2,327.6 to $2,419.6 in July amounted to $1.11 billion. In July, foreign currency assets decreased by $781.5 million to $7.69 billion and since the beginning of the year, have declined by $1.68 billion, partly affected by the extinguishment of the sovereign Eurobonds issued in 2019, worth $500 million. The value of securities purchased by the Central Bank was 35.3 million dollars.

Finance Investments China Export/Import Economy Strategy Social Industry

China to Invest in Electric Scooter Production in Uzbekistan

The Chinese company ECOMOTO has announced plans to become a joint producer of electric scooters in the Yangiyul district of Uzbekistan. A memorandum was signed at a meeting between Odiljon Ataullayev, hokim of Yangiyul district and investors whereby the project will be funded by direct foreign investment of 10 million dollars and create 50 jobs. The production of modern, competitively-priced electric scooters is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025. A metal construction plant, built by the Chinese company Da Fu which recently started operating near Yangiyul, will produce up to 500 tons of products per year.