SUEK to invest 18 bln-19 bln rubles annually in next five years
MOSCOW. June 24 (Interfax) - Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) plans to invest an average of 18 billion-19 billion rubles annually (not including VAT) in 2014-2018 in coal mining and processing and transportation infrastructure.
This investment will enable the company to increase coal production by 10 million-15 million tonnes and boost coal exports by 10 million-12 million tonnes in the next five years, SUEK said in its annual report.
SUEK said at the end of 2012 that it planned to annually invest an average of 20 billion rubles (not including VAT) in 2013-2017.
The amount will depend on the market situation and the pace of development of railway infrastructure.
SUEK's investment program in 2013 totaled 23.9 billion rubles. The report does not specify whether this includes VAT.
SUEK plans to steadily increase exports with the growth of the throughput capacity of railway and port infrastructure. The company primarily aims to boost sales in the Asia-Pacific region, where its main markets are China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
The company also intends to maintain its position as one of the biggest suppliers of thermal coal to countries in the Atlantic region.
On the domestic market, SUEK will strive to strengthen its positions in all segments, including supplies for power plants, the housing and public utilities sector and industrial customers. An ever greater share of coal will be shipped under long-term contracts.
SUEK will continue to build new and modernize existing enrichment plants in Kemerovo Region, Khakasia, Buryatia and Khabarovsk Territory. This will make it possible to increase the volume of coal enrichment by 7 million-10 million tonnes in the next few years, the report states.
SUEK also plans to gradually increase the share of valuable coal brands in its product mix. The company said that it produced 650,000 tonnes of coal in 2013 at the open-pit mine built at the Apsatskoye coking coal deposit in Trans-Baikal Territory. This year there are plans to complete exploration and pre-design work at this deposit to select an option for further expanding its capacity.
The company is continuing to develop its own logistics capacity, and has plans to expand the capacity of the key coal terminal at the Vanino port to 21 million tonnes or more per year. In the West, the company plans to ship a large portion of coal through the Murmansk commercial seaport, where there are also plans to expand capacity.
SUEK reduced coal production by 1% to 96.5 million tonnes in 2013, but boosted exports by 9% to 42.4 million tonnes.
