DUSHANBE, December 16, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan Economic Update, No 2, Fall 2015 by the World Bank notes that the Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO), the country’s largest state-owned enterprise (SOE), met its semiannual output target and plans to double production within the next two years.

During the first six months of 2015 Tajikistan exported 61,200 tons of aluminum, up 3.6 percent (y/y).  TALCO is currently planning to produce 190,000 tons of aluminum in 2015, 52 percent more than in 2014.

Over the next two years TALCO will attempt to expand its annual production capacity to 270,000 tons in anticipation of a moderate increase in global aluminum prices.

However, the recent decline in global commodity prices casts doubt on previous projections, the World Bank report notes.

The Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) is one of the ten largest aluminum smelters in the world and provides up to 70% of the country’s foreign currency earnings, consuming 40% of the country’s electrical power.  TALCO is wholly owned by the Tajik government.  Tajikistan does not mine alumina but imports the raw material through tolling arrangements.

Construction of the Tajik aluminum plant (TadAZ) began in 1972, and the first pouring of aluminum took place on March 31, 1975.  On April 3, 2007, TadAZ was officially renamed to TALCO – Tajik Aluminum Company.  The Tajik aluminum smelter had the capacity to produce 517,000 metric tons per year.