Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 1
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
Azerbaijan and Tajikistan are looking for alternative ways of supplying raw materials for the Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) through ports in Kazakhstan, a source in the Tajik enterprise told Trend on Oct. 1.
The representative of the company reminded that TALCO has been purchasing raw materials from Azerbaijan for aluminum production; in particular, bauxite is supplied from the Ganja Aluminum Refinery.
However, according to the source, the transit through Turkmenistan is currently closed, and trucks with Azerbaijani raw materials have been waiting on the border with Turkmenistan for about 50 days.
“We are now looking for solutions to this issue and are considering with our Azerbaijani partners possibility of transporting raw materials from the port of Alat [Baku International Sea Trade Port in the village of Alat, Baku] to the port of Kuryk or the port of Aktau [in Kazakhstan],” the TALCO representative said.
According to him, there are also problems with the supply of petroleum coke and the company is looking for additional sources of import, in particular, from Azerbaijan.
“The supply of petroleum coke was mainly carried out from Turkmenistan, from the Turkmenbashi refinery. Unfortunately, there are no supplies from the Turkmen side for 8-9 months already. Petroleum coke can be purchased from the Fergana refinery in Uzbekistan, but the sulfur content of the local raw materials is very high. We buy Uzbek raw materials as addition for further mixing with pure petroleum coke,” the source said.
The representative of the company said that in 2018 TALCO was also purchasing petroleum coke from Azerbaijan's Det-Al Holding in the amount of 3,000 tons, but currently there are no supplies.
Earlier, Director General of the Azerbaijan Industrial Corporation Kamran Nabizade told Trend that a strategy for development of aluminum production in the country is currently being developed.
In addition, it is expected to resume the activities of the Ganja Aluminum Refinery, which is a part of the Det-Al Holding, and the Sumgait Aluminum Plant.
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