Uzbekistan in talks with partners on $10 bln gas chemical project

TASHKENT. March 1 (Interfax) - Uzbekistan plans to build a gas chemical complex at a cost of more than $10 billion in the Khorezm region in the northwest of the country, the president's press service reported.

"In conclusion to the first day of a visit to Khorezm region, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a working meeting with the leadership of the Energy Ministry, Uzkhimprom JSC and a major foreign investment company. They discussed issues concerning the joint implementation of a major gas chemical project with total investment of more than $10 billion," the press release said.

Construction is scheduled for 2024-2028 and the project is expected to create 3,000 jobs. The complex will have capacity to produce 2.5 million tonnes of polymer products per year.

"The implementation of the project will give new momentum to the development of the gas chemical industry and become one of the industrial flagships of the new Uzbekistan," Mirziyoyev said at a meeting with regional officials on Friday.

It was reported earlier that Uzbekistan intends to launch a gas chemical complex to process 5 billion cubic meters of gas annually in the Surkhandarya region by the summer of 2024. The cost of the project, which is being carried out by foreign company Surhan Gas Chemical Operating Company using technology licensed from Shell (SPB: RDS.A), is $2.9 billion. The complex is being built based on the 25 Years of Independence field.