DUSHANBE , February 3, Asia-Plus  -- “Russian Aluminum” (Rusal) intends to invest in the construction of a new aluminum smelter in the south of Tajikistan .  

According to information from the Rusal representative office in Dushanbe, the Rusal director general Aleksandr Bulygin has stated this, adding that to date they are considering two variants of the construction of the new aluminum plant in Tajikistan: with annual capacity of 200,000 tons or with annual capacity of 300,000 tons.  “Most likely, we will choose the second variant (300,000 tons),” Bulygin was quoted as saying.    

According to him, the company plans to build the smelter in six or seven years.  Bulygin noted that the term of the new construction directly depended on the term of the construction of the Roghun hydropower plant in Tajikistan , which also will be funded by Rusal.  The Rusal top manager  noted that the new aluminum smelter would be put into operation in 80 months upon completion of the construction of the Roghun station.    

He also noted that Rusal planned to complete a feasibility study for the construction of the hydropower plant in the first quarter of 2006.