Chinese investors have launched the second phase of rehabilitation of Tajik fertilizer plant located in the city of Sarband, Khatlon province.

The event that took place on November 18 was attended by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.

The second phase of the project aiming at rehabilitating Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) Azot (formerly Closed Joint-Stock Company TojikAzot) includes construction of workshops for production of 500,000 tons of ammonia and carbamide per year, according to the Tajik president’s official website.

An estimated budget for implementation of the second phase of the project is reportedly 325 million somoni.

OJSC Azot reportedly produces carbamide, ammonia, carbon dioxide, oxygen and liquid nitrogen.

The plant reportedly also has service shop for power supply and repairing mechanical, electrical and measuring equipment.

About 1,000 people now work for the plant and its products are expected to be exported to Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania.  

An agreement between the Government of Tajikistan and China’s Henan Zhongya Holding Group on rehabilitation of the Tajik fertilizer plant was signed here on September 3, 2016.  

360 million U.S. dollars are expected to be allocated for modernization of coal-powered technological equipment and construction of new shops for production of carbamide and ammonia. 

The project is expected to be implemented in two phases.  The first phase includes modernization and introduction into operation of shops with capacity of producing 320,000 tons of ammonia and carbamide per year. 

The debt-ridden and loss-making fertilizer plant has not been in operation since 2008 due to lack of natural gas supplies.

Until 2008, when neighboring Uzbekistan upped the price of natural gas, a key input for the factory, TojikAzot served as a foreign investment-success story for Tajikistan’s economy.

TojikAzot was partly state owned, with the government controlling a 20 percent stake in the troubled enterprise.  Ostark Ventures Limited (Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash is beneficial owner of Ostark Ventures Limited) assumed the 75% ownership interest in the enterprise and Khairullo Saidov, the son of ex-Minister of Industry Zayd Saidov, owned 5 percent of shares in TojikAzot.

On June 24, 2014, the Khatlon Economic Court invalidated the transaction for the sale of TojikAzot.

Tajikistan’s Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption in March 2014 announced an investigation into a 2002 deal between Dmitry Firtash and the Tajik government to create TojikAzot, a plant specializing in the production of carbamide, an organic compound used in fertilizer.  The anticorruption agency accused Firtash of illegal privatization of the company in 2002 and misappropriation of funds.

Firtash was arrested in Vienna on March 12, 2014, and released on a 125 million Euro bail two days later.

Following Firtash’s arrest, Tajikistan’s anticorruption agency charged him on March 15 with the illegal privatization of the clothing factory Guliston in 2002.

The anticorruption agency has argued that Zayd Saidov was involved in the fraudulent privatization of Guliston and TojikAzot.