From fields of maize to factory site
In July 2012, the investors, project partners and representatives for the regional government together looked out over seemingly endless fields of maize. Today, at this very location, construction and assembly work to complete the factory, which is designed to process 1,000 t/d of raw cane sugar, is in full swing. A 2 km long wall has been built around the site, whose area of around 150,000 m2 is roughly equivalent to 30 football fields.
The heart of the refinery is, of course, the main process building, where raw cane sugar is processed into white sugar. It is here that BMA’s expertise and many years of experience have particularly come into play. The key components for the main process, such as the evaporators, the vacuum pans, the strike receivers, the centrifugals and the sugar driers, were supplied by BMA and put in their final positions in December 2013. At the same time, three natural gas boilers, each with a capacity of 25 t/d of vapour, were installed in the boiler house, and a steam turbine and 4 MW generator were assembled by Siemens. The boiler house and turbine will together provide all the energy needed by the refinery.
A basis for smooth logistics
The completed warehouses for raw sugar and finished white sugar currently tower over the site.The raw sugar warehouse will store up to 50,000 t of the source material for the refinery process, while the warehouse for refined sugar has a storagecapacity of 30,000 t of the product in 50 kg bags.
There is also visible evidence of the complex network of rail tracks and roads as well as the buildings for pickup and delivery. These will ensure the smooth runningof the logistics processes. Whole train loads of raw cane sugar will, after all, be delivered to the factory at regular intervals and 300,000 t of finished white sugarwill have to be taken every year to the end consumers by road or rail.
Optimistic mood among investors and public
The investors say that all companies involved in the implementation of the project – from Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Uzbekistan – have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and excellent performance. With engineering work,construction and assembly running in parallel some of the time, the speed of implementation has been high, hence the excellent project progress. The efforts of BMA’s assembly team deserve special mention. The team had taken on a leading role in the overall process and had to handle a number of highly complex tasks in difficult circumstances – having to coordinate almost 500 assembly and construction staff and other personnel.
During a visit by a delegation of government representatives, televised by the Uzbek state broadcasting service, the investors were assured that working and living conditions at the construc- tion site were good for all staff. The visit showed how the project has moved more and more into the public eye. Further evidence of how positively the project is viewed are the about 1,200 applications for employment in the factory that have already reached Angren Shakar. BMA is therefore doing its utmost to complete the project within deadline and meet both the investors’ targets and the Uzbek government’s expectations, so sugar production can start.
Harald Veleta
BMA AG
Harald.Veleta@bma-de.com