In July 2019, Karaganda hosted the opening ceremony of a new automated Ferroalloy plant of YDD Corporation, built with the financial support of Development Bank of Kazakhstan JSC (subsidiary of the Baiterek Holding).
The main production of the plant is high-quality, high-grade ferrosilicon (FeSi75), which is used in the production and alloying of steel, cast iron alloys to improve the mechanical and corrosion resistance of metals. Ferrosilicon is used in industrial, civil construction, shipbuilding, aircraft construction, automobile production, etc.
Since the start of the plant, more than 5 thousand tons of finished products have been produced. The company is already actively exporting its products to the markets of Europe, USA, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, as well as to the countries of South-East Asia.
In light of the accelerated development and digitalization of world industry, Karaganda Ferroalloy plant is indicative in the field of metallurgy both in the CIS and in the world.
- Now the design capacity of the first stage is 180 thousand tons of high-quality products per year, and during the implementation of the second stage, the plant's capacity will increase to 240 thousand tons of products per year, which will create about 550 new jobs.
It is important to note that reaching the production capacity of the first stage, Kazakhstan will confidently take the 6th place in the world ranking, and with the commissioning of the second stage it will enter the top five countries of the largest producers of ferrosilicon, - says the shareholder of the company Yerlan Nigmatulin.
It should be noted that the rapidly growing global demand for ferroalloys requires innovation in the industry. Stable production, efficient use of natural resources and energy, extension of service life, consideration of environmental aspects - these are the components that characterize the best enterprises in the industry in the world.
Kazakhstan plant is not accidentally called unique. During the construction of the plant, the best world production technologies were used - technologies from Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, China, Georgia, Russia and Kazakhstan.
- First of all, the shareholders were set a goal to increase the export of domestic products with high added value and the organization of modern automated production, using the best international practices. Today we can state that the introduced plant is an ultra-modern and the most high-tech plant in its sector. Another important factor is that the share of Kazakhstani content in the production of finished products will be more than 94%. All necessary raw materials - coal, quartzite, scale - are supplied by domestic enterprises. Long-term contracts have been signed for supply of all raw materials. In general, Karaganda region is one of the largest raw materials bases of Kazakhstan, it has rich and high-quality reserves, and it contributes to the production of high-quality product, - notes Yerlan Nigmatulin.
- Our plant is a "message" to the world’s investment community about the opportunities of Kazakhstan's economy and investment climate. I have worked in different countries of the world, including Europe countries, where the investment climate is traditionally considered attractive. However, I have never met such a thoughtful and functional service for investors from the state side. I want to note that the high rate of implementation of our project was also ensured by coordinated actions of state bodies, national companies, both at the central and regional levels, - said David Kemertelidze, shareholder of the Ferroalloy plant of YDD Corporation LLP.
During the construction of the plant, great attention is paid to the environmental component of the project. Today it is one of the most environmentally friendly enterprises in the world. In particular, the gas cleaning system installed at the plant has no analogues in the world and provides a high degree of air purification, namely up to 99.8%.
This is due to the fact that this complex of gas cleaning systems captures dust from production and turns it into a by - product - microsilica, which is used in the construction industry. In particular, for the production of high-quality cement, concrete, etc.
Technological chains are maximally automated, even dosated feed of raw materials is carried out in automatic mode. All production lines are equipped with monitoring systems, allowing online control of any malfunction or failure of the technology. The company has a special production management center, where operators monitor each production chain 24/7: from the supply and shipment of raw materials to the operation of the water treatment system. Any malfunction is instantly displayed on the monitor, and the operator immediately informs the appropriate head of the unit where the failure occurred. Due to this, possible violations of the technological process are reduced almost to zero.
The total cost of the YDD Corporation plant construction was about $92 million. The project was implemented entirely at the expense of private funds of Kazakh and European investors, with the involvement of debt financing of DBK within the framework of the program of industrial and innovative development. The Bank provided a loan of 24 billion 120 million tenge for a period of 11 years at 8.9% per annum.
- We are confident that this project is fully compliant to the state program of industrial development, - said the Chairman of the Board of JSC Development Bank of Kazakhstan" Abay Sarkulov. - The plant will produce 180 thousand tons of products per year, the average price for products in the most conservative scenario is at the level of $ 1000 (per ton). It means $ 180 million of products will be produced annually. This is a huge amount of money that the country will receive.
The head of the DBK admits that when considering the application of the enterprise, various stress tests were carried out with modeling of the worst-case scenarios of the industry.
- In all the most severe scenarios of stress test, production can continue its operation and service the loan, return the loan to the state. In general, today we can say with confidence that the construction of such plant in the country creates a completely new level of Kazakhstan's industry, aimed at developing the export potential of our country, - says Abay Sarkulov.
The Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK) is the national development institute for the modernization and development of the non-resource and infrastructure sectors of the economy of Kazakhstan, established in 2001. Main activity: development of production infrastructure and manufacturing industry, promotion and attraction of foreign and domestic investments in the country's economy. DBK is one of the largest investment operators of state programs of industrial and innovative development. DBK is a part of Baiterek National Managing Holding JSC.
YDD Corporation LLP is a company engaged in the construction of a plant for the production of ferrosilicon in Karaganda, in order to further sell products on export markets.
