DUSHANBE, October 28, 2015, Asia-Plus -- Tajikistan has produced nearly 858,000 tons of coal since the beginning of this year, which is nearly 22 percent more than in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies (MoINT).

An official source at a MoINT says 751,000 tons of coal have been delivered over the report period, or 87.5 percent of the volume of coal produced this year.

Coal production has reportedly increased due to a shift in the country’s industrial enterprises from more expensive natural gas and electricity to more economical coal for heating and other needs.

Since 2007, more than 150 industrial enterprises in Tajikistan have been shifted to coal, the source said. More than 160 coal-fired enterprises now operate in Tajikistan.

Eighteen coal-producing enterprises now operate at fourteen coal deposits in Tajikistan.  Fon-Yaghnob Mine is Tajikistan’s largest coal-producing enterprise.