Friday, 2 March 2012
PM Visits ARMENAL Company
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visited ARMENAL, the aluminum foil producing entity which a subsidiary of RUSAL. Accompanied by Minister of Economy Tigran Davtyan, the head of government got acquainted with the production process and the company’s forthcoming projects.
Then a consultative meeting was held, chaired by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and attended by the Minister of Economy and the heads of metallurgical companies. The meeting discussed development prospects, as well as a broad range of issues concerning the launch of the talks on the deep and comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union.
In his statement, the Prime Minister said 5 of 28 line enterprises operating in Armenia were in attendance. He stressed that in cooperation with the private sector, the government had developed a new industrial strategy.
”Metal processing industry is of great interest in this respect as it has great export potential. Some of our metallurgical entities are using local raw materials, and they badly need investments. The experience of RUSAL demonstrates that the use of modern technologies can ensure high productivity and open up new sales outlets. We are looking forward to specific arrangements reached during this meeting as we wish to learn your vision of future metallurgy, your expectations from the government and also what the government should do to provide for effective investments in this field,” the Prime Minister said.
The head of government highlighted the launch of the talks on a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union a few days ago. “If we prove successful in this process, the European market will be open for the Armenian manufacturers. ARMENAL will benefit a lot as this can lead to increased profits and reduced costs, because the end-products will sell in Europe as a whole. The company experts advised that the market prices are higher in Europe than in the United States. The government offers specific privileges to major investors and, in this respect, we wish your investment approaches and programs were predictable.
In addition to the rules applicable in this field, earlier this year we passed the law on free economic zones, which is effective already. We are prepared to discuss new projects with private investors so that the free economic platform becomes accessible. The platform’s main feature is that it implies the use of new technologies and innovations. We are pleased that the plant offers wages 2.5 times as high as the national average. This is why we are pledging support to ensure that it can operate with full capacity.”
The Prime Minister also welcomed the development of the new modernization program that will help produce high-quality aluminum with a great demand in world markets.
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The share of ARMENAL in the total output of 28 metal processing entities rose to 22% in 2011. The company employs some 692 people with an average monthly pay of AMD 268 thousand.
As compared to 2010, the output rose by 2.7% last year to 25 313 tons of foil, of which 25.041 tons were exported.
A total of USD 120mn-worth investment was made in 2000-2011. In the meantime, the plant produced 130 thousand tons of foil most of which was exported toward the United States, Europe, Middle East and other countries.
In 2012-2014, some 6 million U.S. dollars will be invested to take the level of annual output up to 33.6 thousand tons.
The government of Armenia has accorded a tax privilege to the company by extending the term of “temporary import” customs regime for the blast-furnace imported.
