INVESTORS INJECT $20 MILLION INTO ARMENIA’S BITUMEN MIXING PLANT
ARKA
May 18, 2009
YEREVAN, May 18. /ARKA/. Investors have earmarked $20mln in Armenia’s
air-refined asphalt and bitumen mixing plant in Ararat region.
Armenia owns 45% of the plant’s shares, with Russia holding the
rest of 55%, Nelly Voskanyan, general director of the enterprise,
said last Friday at the opening of the plant.
Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan, RA Deputy Prime Minister Armen
Gevorgyam and his Russian counterpart Sergey Ivanov, as well as
Russia’s Ambassador to Armenia Nokolai Pavlov participated in the
official ceremony of the plant’s opening.
Russia’s Voldogonsk-based ONYX plant contributed to the technical
design of the plant and manufactured equipment, carried out balancing
and commissioning and contract supervision.
According to Voskanyan, the plant annually needs 100,000 tons of
atmospheric crude oil or 45,000 tons of oil tar.
The plant will output some 43,000 tons of bitumen, 40,000 tons of
heating oil and 6,000 tons of diesel distillate with 330-day annual
operations.
"Surveying Armenia’s bitumen imports market, we may assume that the
plant will completely satisfy local demand," Voskanyan was quoted
saying.
She pointed out that Armenia knows little about heating fuel, adding
the product would mainly be exported abroad.
"Using heating oil for boiler plants and households, regions that
cut wood s for heating reasons will avoid environmental problems,"
Voskanyan added.
Russia started the first supplies of raw tar oil last Thursday, with
the next shipment being scheduled for late May. During the upcoming
four months, the plant will carry out technical processing.
"We need another two months to elaborate technology to become
competitive in the global market and be in line with international
standards," the plant’s general director said.
The Surenavan-based petroleum storage depot was established in the ’80s
to provide Armenia will oil products. In 1996, ABIT (Armenian bitumen)
Ltd, owned by Lavarden Ltd, Bonvarren Ltd, Mika Ltd and LL Bamo Ltd,
procured the depot to reconstruct it and built an air-asphalt and
bitumen-mixing plant in near the depot. Respromproekt carried out the
plant’s reconstruction, while Intercanal Ltd supervised construction
and assembly operations. Ten subcontractors were involved in the
plant’s construction, with 400 people working on it.
The plant is supplied with a state-of-the-art laboratory and pilot
equipment.