Industry of Uzbekistan4

Industry of Uzbekistan4
Uzbekistan's industrial sector accounted for 33 percent of its NMP in 1991. Despite some
efforts to diversify its industrial base, industry remains dominated by raw materials extraction
and processing, most of which is connected with cotton production and minerals. In 1993 total
manufacturing had decreased by 1 percent from its 1990 level, and mining output had decreased
by more than 8 percent.
Heavy Industry
The Tashkent region, in the northeastern "peninsula" adjacent to the Fergana Valley, accounts
for about one-third of the industrial output of Uzbekistan, with agricultural machinery the most
important product. The city is the nucleus of an industrial region that was established near
mineral and hydroelectric resources stretching across northeastern Uzbekistan from the
Syrdariya in the west to the easternmost point of the nation. Electricity for the industries of the
region comes from small hydroelectric stations along the Chirchiq River and from a gas-fired
local power station.
Uzbekistan's most productive heavy industries have been extraction of natural gas and oil; oil
refining; mining and mineral processing; machine building, especially equipment for cotton cultivation and the textile industry; coal mining; and the ferrous metallurgy, chemical, and electrical power industries. The chemical manufacturing industry focuses primarily on the production of fertilizer.
Two oil refineries in Uzbekistan, located at Farghona and Amtiari, have a combined capacity of
173,000 barrels per day. Other centers of the processing industries include Angren (for coal),
Bekobod (steel), Olmaliq (copper, zinc, and molybdenum), Zarafshon (gold), and Yangiobod
(uranium). The Uzbek fertilizer industry was established at Chirchiq, northeast of Tashkent, near
Samarqand, and at several sites in the Fergana Basin. Uzbekistan is the largest producer of
machinery for all phases of cotton cultivation and processing, as well as for irrigation, in the
former our country. The machine building industry is centered at Tashkent, Chirchiq,
Samarqand, and Andijon in the east, and at Nukus in Karakalpakstan.