TOAZ Launches Construction of the Third Urea Plant

Togliattiazot, Russia’s largest ammonia producer, has held an official kick-off ceremony launching the construction of Urea Plant No. 3. This was announced by the company itself.

The announcement emphasises that the design capacity of the plant will amount to 2.2 thousand tonnes of urea per day – the plant is more efficient as compared to the other two urea plants operated by TOAZ. Due to the construction of the new plant, the company’s total capacity will rise from 3 thousand tonnes to 5.2 thousand tonnes of urea per day.

According to Petr Ordzhonikidze, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TOAZ PJSC, “construction of the third urea plant will turn a new page in the company’s history”. “The project provides for both creation of a modern competitive urea production facility meeting all environmental safety and energy efficiency requirements and enhancement of our capabilities on the Russian and global markets of fertilizers”. Besides, he expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in the development of the project, to Togliattiazot team members, to the Government of Samara region, and to partners – Casale, Commerzbank AG, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, and Switzerland’s SERV.

The project has been developed in cooperation with Casale S.A. (Lugano, Switzerland). Construction of the plant based on the state-of-the-art industrial and environmental safety technologies will contribute to a major reduction of air emissions and ensure urea purity degree at 93%.

TOAZ PJSC is funding the project using its own resources and borrowed funds. In March 2018, Togliattiazot signed a loan contract with international banking syndicate Commerzbank AG (Zurich, Switzerland) and Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (Stuttgart, Germany) worth of EUR 180 million for 9 years. Swiss Export Risk Insurance (SERV) provided the relevant guarantees. The borrowings will be allocated to finance the design works and supply of equipment and technologies for the construction of the third plant.

Mustafa Güner, Director for Export Finance at Commerzbank AG, drew attention to the exceptional nature of the project and its significance for the region. “Togliattiazot’s professional approach enabled the company to raise substantial financing with international banks in the current economic and political context. This is a major success unattainable to the other large companies from emerging markets. We are certain that the construction of the plant will benefit both TOAZ who will strengthen its positions in the urea market and Togliatti and Samara region”, he said.

Furthermore, the partners highlighted the eco-friendliness of the project. Thus, according to Sergio Debernardi, Chief Operations Director at Casale S.A., “thanks to state-of-the-art technologies provided by Casale, the new plant will convert carbon dioxide, a by-product of Togliattiazot production facilities, into urea, an extremely valuable product, by increasing the capacity of the plant up to 2,200 tonnes per day”.

The plant is scheduled to be commissioned in 2021. The project budget is RUB 25 billion.