The committee called a tender for the plant in September 2007.

The source declined to say how much Monolit paid for the company, however he did say that "the price was close to the starting price of US$3.615 million."

Under the terms of the tender, the winner is to take on the plant’s investment liabilities, the minimum amount of which is US$5 million.

Austria’s Aquila Shipping and Ship Management GmbH also took part in the tender.

The Kokanda Superphosphate Plant was founded on the core of fertilizer plant that had been in operation since 1935 and was privatized in 1997. The plant has capacity to process 178,000 tonnes of phosphorite concentrate per year. It annually produces about 160,000 tonnes of ammoniated superphosphate, which is shipped primarily to domestic farmers.