Azernews.Az

By Leman Mammadova

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry organized a visit of representatives of embassies and international organizations accredited in the country to Sumgait city on January 30.

The visit was organized for over 60 representatives of diplomatic corps working in Azerbaijan to familiarize them with the development of Sumgait city, Trend reports.

Foreign diplomats visited SOCAR Carbamide and SOCAR Polymer plants in the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park, the Sumgait State Musical Drama Theater, the Chemist Palace of Culture and the Heydar Aliyev Center, the chess school and the art school for children, Sumgait Boulevard and the Flag Museum.

Head of the Sumgait city executive power Zakir Farajov said that the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park is one of the biggest industrial parks in the South Caucasus.

He added that ninety percent of employees of Azerbaijan’s Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park are residents of Sumgait city.

“Thus, if earlier there was a problem with unemployment in Sumgait, this problem has been eliminated. This was achieved thanks to the constant commissioning of new industrial facilities,” he emphasized.

He also said that presently, only part of facilities are operating in the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park, noting that the commissioning of other industrial facilities under construction is expected by the end of the year.

Later, Turkish ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral, while speaking to journalists, stressed that the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park testifies to Azerbaijan’s economic development.

The ambassador added that the Turkish companies also played a role in the construction of the park. "The Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park is a part of economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey. Most of the products that will be produced here will be exported to the Turkish market,” he said.

Ozoral underlined that in the future, this park will make an important contribution to the economic development of not only Azerbaijan, but also Turkey, noting, the products produced in the industrial park will be supplied to Turkey via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in the future and there will be an opportunity for its export from Turkey to Europe.

Establishment of industrial parks with modern production infrastructure envisages sustainable development of Azerbaijan's non-oil sector, increasing the export capability of the country's economy, as well as the production of competitive, import-substituting products, providing employment of local population.

At present, Pirallahi Industrial Park, Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park, Balakhani Industrial Park, Mingachevir Industrial Park and Garadagh Industrial Park are operating in the country.

The Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park, which was established in 2011 to promote industrial production, employment, sustainable development of non-oil sector and business support in Azerbaijan currently covers an area of 505.64 hectares.

This industrial park aimed at the production and processing of competitive products for petrochemical and other priority industries.

As many as 18 enterprises with a total investment of more than $ 2.8 billion were granted resident status at Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park.

It should be noted that SOCAR Polymer was established in July 2013 in Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park to accelerate the development of the chemical industry. The company received the status of the second resident of the park. SOCAR Polymer covers 30 hectares of the park territory.

Recently, SOCAR carbamide plant, built on the territory of the Sumgait chemical industrial park, was commissioned.

The beginning of production at the SOCAR carbamide plant will eliminate the need for import of nitrogen fertilizers, thereby the country's foreign currency spending will decrease. By using 435 million cubic meters of natural gas as a raw material, the plant is capable of producing 650,000-660,000 tons of carbamide.

Moreover, 70 percent of the production is envisaged for export, which will enable the country to receive additional income worth up to $160 million annually. The commissioning of this plant will play an important role in the development of agriculture in Azerbaijan.

Presently, SOCAR carbamide plant is the biggest project in the country, implemented in the non-oil sector. Its total cost is about 800 million euros. At the initial stage, the project was financed through the funds allocated from the state budget. During the construction of the plant, a number of international banks, including South Korean Export-Import Bank (KEXIM), Societe Generale (France), Deutsche Bank (Germany) and UniCredit (Austria), allocated funds in the amount of 500 million euros through the state guarantees.

SOCAR also allocated about 100 million euros to pay taxes and duties as well as other costs related to the project.

The South Korean company Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd., has provided engineering, procurement, construction and pre-commissioning services for the plant.

Opening up a very good prospect for Azerbaijan to increase the inflow of foreign currency into the country, commissioning of the SOCAR Carbamide Plant is an important step towards increasing Azerbaijan’s high-tech export.

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