On 27 August, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the Navoiazot Joint Stock Company. The ceremony of launching two plants for the production of nitric acid, as well as ammonia and urea was held here.

The chemical industry is becoming one of the main drivers of the country’s economy. Previously, the industry produced mainly mineral fertilizers for agriculture, and the share of such products was about 80 percent. Today, due to the production of modern polymers, the share of mineral fertilizers has decreased by 10 percent, and the volume of products for other purposes has increased 6 times. 

Over the past five years, the volume of production in the Uzkimyosanoat system has quadrupled, while the export of chemical products has reached $250 million.

The role of Navoiazot Joint Stock Company is great in this. It accounts for almost half of the production of chemical products. About 9 thousand engineers, technologists and workers work here.

The commissioned plants for the production of nitric acid, ammonia and urea will give an additional impetus to the development of the industry. The implementation of projects worth $1.5 billion will triple the production volume at Navoiazot – from $150 million to $410 million per year.

These modern complexes, equipped with the most advanced technologies brought to Uzbekistan for the first time, will, among other things, completely replace the old facilities of the 60-year-old enterprise.

In particular, the first plant will produce 660 thousand tons of ammonia and 578 thousand tons of urea per year. At the same time, energy consumption for the production of one ton of ammonia will be reduced by 2.5 times.

The second plant will produce 500 thousand tons of nitric acid per year and will reduce electricity consumption by 18 times.

These two projects alone will reduce the cost of nitrogen fertilizers by 30 percent.

“There is hard and at the same time honorable work of thousands of hardworking, selfless employees of the enterprise, highly qualified specialists behind these figures”, said Shavkat Mirziyoyev and thanked the collective of the society.

By pressing a symbolic button, the Head of the state launched the production of nitric acid, ammonia and urea at the enterprises.

On December 28, 2019, a complex for the production of polyvinyl chloride, caustic soda and methanol was launched here.

Construction of the second stage of the polyvinyl chloride plant has begun today. The $400 million project will increase the capacity of polyvinyl chloride production from 100 thousand to 220 thousand tons per year, caustic soda – from 75 thousand to 165 thousand tons. Thus, the production of demanded products worth $210 million per year will be established in the electrical, furniture, construction, household chemicals and other industries. Its commissioning is scheduled for 2023.

It is also important that based on this enterprise it is planned to create a large integrated chemical-technological one based on Navoiazot and the Electrochemical plant.

The Head of the state highlighted the potential and prospects of this association.

“In this cluster, 23 projects worth $3.4 billion will be implemented in the coming years. The cluster will produce 33 types of high-value-added products. In particular, by the end of the year, the cluster will launch two projects for manufacturing products for the chemical, leather, furniture and construction materials industries. The most important thing is that more than 3 thousand people will be employed at Navoiazot”, the President said.

Economic projects in the country are based on the principles of rational placement and complementarity. So, by 2030, it is planned to build solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 8 thousand megawatts, which will save 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. This gas will be used to manufacture products with high added value.

“Before we sold mainly cotton and gas. Now we do not sell abroad, but we process ourselves. We even purchase if necessary. Why? There are more enterprises, more products are being manufactured”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

In this regard, in the coming years, it is planned to create 6 chemical-technological clusters, the first of which was in Navoiazot.

The second cluster will be located in Bukhara region, where polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl acetate (PVA), polypropylene and other polymers will be produced from natural gas. Dozens of modern enterprises for the production of finished goods will be created there.

The third cluster will be built based on Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex and the Dehkanabad Potash Fertilizer Plant in Kashkadarya region. It will produce the main components of detergents and household chemicals, bimodal polyethylene and other goods.

The fourth cluster based on Ferganaazot will produce varnishes, melamine for furniture and synthetic fibers for the textile industry.

The fifth cluster will be located in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, in Ustyurt. It organizes the production of soda ash, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene and polypropylene.

The sixth cluster in Tashkent region will produce monoammonium phosphate, sulfur urea, other phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers, protein, and detergents.

As a result of the implementation of these projects, by 2026, the volume of production of chemical products will increase 3 times compared to the current year and in 2030 will amount to 7 percent of GDP.

The Head of the state noted the need for training qualified specialists for large-scale projects in this sphere.

For this, a scientific and educational cluster in the field of chemistry will be created in Tashkent’s Ulugbek village. This cluster will include 4 higher education institutions and a modern scientific center for chemistry.

The President also laid a capsule in the foundation of a future polyvinyl chloride plant.