Uzbekistan borrows $2.3 billion for gas-to-liquids plant project
The $3.7 billion GTL plant, set to be launched in 2020, will allow the Central Asian nation to use its large natural gas reserve to produce more fuels TASHKENT: Uzbekistan has agreed loans worth $2.3 billion for its gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant project with 11 banks from Japan, China, South Korea, Russia and the West. The $3.7 billion GTL plant, set to be launched in 2020, will allow the Central Asian nation to use its large natural gas reserve to produce more fuels such as diesel which it currently imports due to declining crude oil output and insufficient refinery capacity. The plant will refine 3.6 billion cubic metres of gas a year and produce 1.5 million tonnes of fuel, its management said at a signing ceremony in Tashkent. Lenders include China Development Bank, Credit Suisse, Japan’s MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC, Korea’s Eximbank, KSure, and Woori Bank, Russia’s Exiar, Gazprombank, and Roseximbank.