OREANDA-NEWS. Sojitz Corporation (Sojitz) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) announced that they have completed construction of an ammonia and urea fertilizer plant in the city of Mary in eastern Turkmenistan. Ordered in December 2009 by Turkmenhimiya State Concern, Turkmenistan's state owned petrochemical company headquartered in Ashgabat, the plant is the largest of its kind in the entire country.

The completed plant consists of ammonia and urea production facilities, alongside power generation, water treatment, nitrogen production and other offsite and utility facilities. It is capable of producing 1,200 tons of ammonia and 1,925 tons of urea fertilizer per day, using natural gas from nearby gas fields.

Sojitz has taken responsibility for coordinating contracts for this project, including funding support, with KHI handling the overall design of the fertilizer plant and supplying machinery.

With Sojitz's support, KHI also received an order from the country's state-owned gas company Turkmengaz for GtoG (gas to gasoline) production facilities in August this year. Both companies have built up/been building up excellent reputations in Turkmenistan this way.

Turkmenistan boasts the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas and has continued to experience rapid growth, even compared to other Central Asian countries. In addition to natural gas and oil, cotton is also one of the country's major exports, prompting the government to focus resources on promoting agriculture. Having previously relied heavily on imports for the fertilizer needed to grow cotton, the completion of this plant will cater to growing demand for fertilizer in Turkmenistan, whilst also helping to add value to the country's natural gas resources.

Sojitz and KHI will continue leverage the extensive expertise they have built up through operations in other countries, as they actively roll out projects throughout Turkmenistan and its neighboring countries, in an effort to help enrich the lives of people across the region.