The 4th International Conference "Metallurgical Market of Central Asia and Transcaucasia", held on 18-19 April in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, was dedicated to key trends and investment projects in the region's metallurgical industry. Special attention was paid to strategic initiatives to secure own resources, as well as the prospects for exporting steel products. The following important projects were highlighted at the conference:
Nizhne-Volzhsky Pipe Plant (NVTZ) is actively expanding its presence in the markets of Central Asia and Transcaucasia by opening branches and increasing export volumes of steel products. Recently, a branch was opened in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), one of the largest enterprises in the region. The company shipped almost 1.6 million tonnes of steel products to regional markets in 2023, which means a 34% increase in shipments from 2021. Positive dynamics is observed in shipments of hot-rolled coil, long products and polymer-coated rolled products.
Uzbekistan has planned ambitious projects to develop its metallurgical industry. Uzmetkombinat plans to build a sheet-rolling complex with a capacity of 1 million tonnes and a direct reduction iron production complex.
As part of modernisation, Samarkand Steel Plant intends to install new equipment and expand production capacity for flat rolled products.
It is also worth mentioning the construction of the Tebinbulak plant, which plans to supply the domestic market with up to 1.8 million tonnes of iron ore per year, and the Gallaaral complex, where it is planned to produce up to 1.5 million tonnes of steel products per year from metallurgical raw materials supplied from Tebinbulak.
The conference participants also visited the production facilities of Baku Steel Company and Unimetal in the city of Sumgait. The Baku Steel Company AzerBoru plant produces seamless pipes for the oil and gas industry and has launched a modernisation programme to increase annual output to 120,000 tonnes. There are also plans to increase exports to North American markets after IPA certification. The second site visited was Unimetal's production facilities. Unimetal's pipe mill is equipped with four pipe mills producing pipes. The product range includes 150 pipe positions for the production of steel structures. In 2023 pipe output totalled 21.6 thousand tonnes. A distinctive feature of Unimetal is the ability to supply steel pipes together with other building materials (rebar and roofing materials) to construction companies.
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