State Property Committee of Uzbekistan has extended the deadline for the bids for 49% interest in Ammofos, the largest producer of ammophos (a fertilizer mainly consisting of monoammonium phosphate NH4H2PO4, and partially diammonium phosphate (NH4)2HPO4), and nitrogenous-phosphoric mineral fertilizers in the country. The minimum bid for the state’s stake in the company is US$17.164 million.

The new deadline has been set for 5 October 2007. It is planned that the results of the tender will be summed up by the end of this year. Initially, the deadline for the tender announced in the late April had been set for 22 June, and the results were to be summed up by the end-July. The deadline was then put off to 7 September.

According to the tender conditions, preference will be given to foreign investors that offer the highest bid for the said shareholding, and take on the minimum investment obligations in the amount of US$27 million.

In 2003-2006, the State Property Committee made several attempts to sell the state’s stake in Ammofos. However, all of them failed. The first financial consultant was British Maxwell Stamp, and then it was Swiss Miller Trading.

Pursuant to the Resolution of the President of Uzbekistan of 27 July 2007 "On the Programme on modernization, technical and technological re-equipment of the enterprises of chemical industry in 2007-2011", a complex of works is to be carried out at Ammofos by the end of 2008 to modernize the production of extraction phosphoric acid (EFK-3), organize the processing of fresh-precipitated phosphoric gypsum and sulfuric acid using existing capacities, and restore sulfuric acid production.

Ammofos is located in the city of Almalyk (Tashkent region) and is the largest producer of nitrogenous-phosphoric mineral fertilizers in Uzbekistan. The enterprise’s main activities include the production of ammophos, extraction phosphoric and sulfuric acids, and wood-fiber boards made of stems of cotton plant and ambary.

The enterprise’s products are highly demanded in the local market, and can be used in different climate zones, with different types of soil and all types of agricultural crops.