Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - Leading metal firm Tajikistan Aluminum Company （TALCO） plans a $100 million upgrade following its failure to meet output targets last year.
Central Asia’s largest aluminum producer fell short of meeting its 2010 target of 442,798 tons, the Reuters news agency learned from an unidentified source on Wednesday.
Its actual output of 384,541 tons last year represents a 2.9 percent decrease from 2009, said the source, identified by Reuters as being close to the firm’s management.
The decline in output was attributed to aging equipment and a shortage of qualified personnel.
"Aluminum prices have displayed stable growth over the last few months," Reuters reported the source as saying. "This year, TALCO's budget has set aside large sums for modernization: the replacement of outdated equipment and the training of engineers and technical staff."
Funding for the upgrades will come entirely from revenues on the sale of metal last year produced out of its smelter, located 30 miles west of the capital city Dushanbe.
The smelting facility, established during the Soviet era, had the best year in 2007 when it was able to produce 461,934 tons of the metal.
TALCO’s exports contribute a whopping 65 percent of the state budget.
However many of its qualified engineers have gone abroad to seek employment in recent years even though the monthly pay of metallurgists, at between $300 and $400, is far higher than the country’s average wage of $82.
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