Almaty, 27 October 2011. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has begun to finance a project to reconstruct a sulphuric acid plant in Kazakhstan. This plant works for the country’s nuclear sector. The project has been initiated by the plant’s main shareholder United Chemical Company, a subsidiary of the Samruk Kazyna National Welfare Fund.
Project finance agreements were made in August 2011. In accordance with them, the EDB opened a ten-year loan facility for the Kazatomprom Sulphuric Acid Plant for a total of 7.7 billion tenge (approximately US $52 million).
This money will be used to purchase equipment and reconstruct buildings and facilities. The plant will have the latest, highly integrated equipment. It will use advance double adsorption and conversion processes that make the production of sulphuric acid maximally efficient and safe for health and the environment.
After reconstruction, the plant is expected to produce 180,000 of sulphuric acid a year.
“This project is being implemented in accordance with Kazakhstan’s State Programme for Boosting Industrial and Innovation Development and as such it will help advance the chemical sector and ensure the country’s security in terms of feedstock supplies and, consequently, an efficient development of its uranium sector,” says Kambar Shalgimbayev, Deputy Chairman of the EDB Executive Board.
Sulphuric acid is the main chemical component for extracting uranium salts from ore. The project’s end purpose is to ensure uninterrupted supplies of this material to Kazatomprom’s uranium mining companies.
The project’s gross output is estimated to reach US $171.5 million during the loan period. It will create 180 jobs and more than 500 jobs in related industries.
