Paper products. Photo: Kursiv.media.
Chinese company Huanrong Paper plans to build a paper manufacturing plant in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand region, with total investment estimated at about $500 million, Spot.uz reported, citing the regional administration.
Last week, investors from China visited Samarkand, where they held talks with regional governor Adiz Boboyev. During the meeting, the business delegation presented plans to establish a facility that will produce industrial cardboard as well as packaging and office paper.
The Chinese investors said they are prepared to invest nearly $500 million in the project, which will be implemented in five stages.
The plant will require more than 50 hectares of land. One of the proposed locations is a site in the Khishrau-2 area of Samarkand, within the Urgut free economic zone.
According to the investors, once operational the plant will create about 3,000 jobs and generate $50–60 million a year in tax revenues for Uzbekistan. Company representatives said the facility would be the first project of this scale in the paper industry in Central Asia.
The governor of the Samarkand region, for his part, offered comprehensive support from local authorities, including assistance with organizational and infrastructure issues and overall project coordination.
Chinese companies have been rapidly expanding their presence in Uzbekistan. In September last year, for example, Uzbekistan’s minister of agriculture, Ibrohim Abdurakhmonov, held talks with several Chinese investors, resulting in agreements on initiatives worth more than $550 million. These included plans to establish a joint innovation center and a large tobacco factory.
