OREANDA-NEWS. On 22 June 2009 was announced, that the Russian National Exhibition started in Astana, Kazakhstan, where EuroChem, Russia’s largest mineral fertilizer producer, presented a comprehensive project to develop the fields in the Karatau phosphate rock basin. The cost of the project is over USD 2.5 billion. The company told Victor Khristenko, the Russian Federation Minister of Industry, and Sauat Mynbaev, Kazakhstan Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, about its plans to build a mining and processing plant for producing high-quality phosphate rock, and a large fertilizer factory capable of producing a broad range of products with an annual yield of 2 million tons. Kazakhstan is expected to be the primary market for the new factory’s products, and the country’s fertilizer consumption should grow by a few hundred percent.

In 2008, EuroChem purchased the state-owned shares of the Sary-Tas plant in Karatau, which will serve as the base for the new fertilizer producing facility. All accounts payable accrued over its 15-year downtime have been repaid, employees of the mothballed facility are now receiving their wages, recruitment has started for key personnel, and mine designs are being prepared for the construction of the new facilities.

It was noted that EuroChem’s project will help resolve the fertilizer shortage in Kazakhstan, reduce imports, increase the yield of all crops, improve the quality of food products, create nearly 4,000 jobs, secure considerable tax revenues, and solve a number of social and economic problems in Karatau and Zhanatas in the Zhambyl Region.

Khristenko and Mynbaev approved and supported EuroChem’s investment project in Kazakhstan and said that it would strengthen the relationship between the two countries within the framework of economic integration between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, and would foster the development of a diversified economy within Kazakhstan.