Friday, June 08, 2012 -
Kyrgyzstan’s top energy official announced on Friday that the Kara-Balta oil refinery, said to be the largest private enterprise in the country in recent years, will begin production this fall.
Minister of Energy and Industry Askarbek Shadiyev told parliamentary deputies that the $250 million Chinese venture will produce its first petroleum products in October 2012, local media outlets reported.
The plant will process around 850,000 tons of crude oil into 650,000 cubic meters (cm) of gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and motor oil, the official said.
“As of today, $50 million has been invested into construction of the refinery. We are spending $100 million on equipment that will arrive in Kyrgyzstan soon,” Shadiyev told lawmakers of the Ata-Meken party.
All the refinery products will be sold on the domestic market to meet 65 percent of the fuel needs of Kyrgyzstan, the local KyrTAG news agency reported.
Omurbek Tekebayev, leader of Ata-Meken party, said the oil refinery will remove the country’s dependence on petroleum product imports.
Around 600 Chinese and 300 Kyrgyz workers are currently employed at the construction site.
Construction on the plant began in 2009.