ASHGABAT (Reuters) -Japan’s Mitsubishi has begun construction on a large urea plant in Turkmenistan, estimated to cost over $1.3 billion, a source in the Turkmen chemical industry told Reuters on Monday.
Construction of the plant at Kiyanly, on the Caspian Sea coast in the country’s far west, is scheduled for completion in 2028-2029, the source said.
They added that the plant is planned to produce 3,500 tons of urea daily, alongside 2,000 tons of ammonia. Turkey’s Gap Inşaat has been awarded the construction contract.
There was no immediate comment from Mitsubishi outside working hours.
Turkmenistan, which holds the world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves and sells primarily to China, is currently seeking to diversify its economy away from gas exports.
A similar project worth over $1.3 billion was launched in 2018 by a Japanese-Turkish consortium in Garabogaz, not far from the planned new facility.
(Reporting by Marat Gurt, Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
