DUSHANBE, December 10, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- The limited liability company, Chkalovsk Bus Plant, based in the Tajik northern province of Sughd, and Russia’s companies Automobiles and Engines of Ural and Irbit Motor Trailer Plant intend to launch a joint venture in Khujand, the capital of the Sughd province for assembling trucks, press service of Russia’s Sverdlovskaya region’s administration reported on December 9.

An agreement on this subject was reached on Tuesday (December 8) during a meeting of the sides with Aleksandr Kharlov, an acting Minister for International and Foreign Economic Ties of the Sverdlovskaya Region.

The meeting is continuation of a dialogue that was launched during a visit of a delegation of the Sverdlovskaya region to Dushanbe last October.

During a December 8 meeting in Yekaterinburg, the Chkalovsk Bus Plant director Bakhtiyor Ashourov noted that the Tajik side was interested in launching a joint venture in Khujand for production of the Novouralsky ZIL chassis.  The Tajik side also offers creation of service centers for maintenance of Novouralsky ZILs.  Besides, products of the joint venture could also be exported to neighboring countries, for example, Afghanistan.

According to the press service, the Kachanar company, Metallist, has also shown interest in this project.