Page 31 - BELRptApr19

9.2 Major corporate news
9.2.11 Metallurgy & mining corporate news
Turkmenistan has filed a lawsuit with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce against Belarusian state-owned construction company Belharkhimpram , seeking compensation for the failure to complete the construction of a $1.1 potash fertiliser plant in Turkmenistan’s eastern Lebap province. The Garlyk fertilizer plant, valued at $1.1bn and constructed by Belgorkhimprom, was put into operation in March 2017. However, in November 2018, Belarus accused the Turkmen contracting party of owing $42.7mn to Belgorkhimprom. Belarusian authoritarian President Aleksandr Lukashenko demanded at the time that the Belarusian government resolve issues surrounding unsettled debts owed to Minsk for construction works carried out overseas. "I am being informed that the payment for the construction of the Garlyk mining and refining facility has not been received so far," Lukashenko said. "The government should undertake prompt measures to resolve these issues. If need be, you should involve the [Belarusian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our representatives on the Eurasian Economic Commission." Meanwhile, according to Turkmen media reports, the Belarusian government asked Turkmenistan to allow the plant to be launched on March 31, 2017 and promised to finish construction work and supply all the missing equipment before the end of 2017 within the framework of an additional contract. As a result, "has hardly done anything since then to finish the project", according to the gundogar-news.com online outlet. According to report, although the plant was expected to produce 350,000 metric tonnes of fertilizers in the first year of operation, it has filed to produce even 5% of the stated production capacity. At the top of that, Turkmenistan is worried about possible threats of accidents that may claim victims and have a serious environmental impact. In November 2018, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov criticised the Garlyk plant’s performance. The facility’s production supposedly amounted to just 2.3% (32,300 tonnes) of its originally projected output volume.
9.2.13 Other sector corporate news
Belarusian state-owned construction company Belharkhimprom has refused to fulfil some of its contractual obligations over the construction of a $1.1 potash fertiliser plant in Turkmenistan’s eastern Lebap province due to Turkmenistan's failure to pay around $150mn for the work that it had already done, the company's director general Viachaslav Korshun told BelaPAN news agency on March 13. Turkmenistan has filed a lawsuit with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce against, seeking compensation for the failure to complete the construction of a $1.1 potash fertiliser plant in Turkmenistan’s eastern Lebap province. The Garlyk fertilizer plant, valued at $1.1bn and constructed by Belgorkhimprom, was put into operation in March 2017. "We did some work that they needed to pay for," Korshun said. "And if we are not paid for our work, why should I do something for free? Why should I be lending to Turkmenistan when we have enough projects that require highly efficient investments and guarantee payment?" In November 2018, Belarus accused the Turkmen contracting party of owing $42.7mn to Belgorkhimprom. Belarusian authoritarian President Aleksandr Lukashenko demanded at the time that the Belarusian government resolve
31 BELARUS Country Report April 2019 www.intellinews.com