Tajik Aluminium Company
The Tajik Aluminium Company (Tajik: Ширкати Алюминийи Тоҷик; Russian: Таджикская алюминиевая компания), abbreviated as TALCO (Tajik/Russian: ТАЛКО) headquartered in Tursunzoda, Tajikistan, runs the largest aluminum manufacturing plant in Central Asia, and is Tajikistan's chief industrial asset. Emomalii Rahmon, the President of Tajikistan, personally oversees TALCO and according to The Economist, "Each year, TALCO produces hundreds of millions of dollars in profits that are routed to a shell company in the British Virgin Islands".
The country has no native aluminum ore, so the raw material for the plant has to be imported. Construction of the plant proper began in 1972, and the first pouring of aluminum took place on 31 March 1975.
Tajik news agency AVESTA reported that it produced a total of 416 thousand tonnes of aluminum in 2006. In 2012, TALCO is sticking to its plan to produce 332,500 tonnes of primary aluminium, which would restore production approximately to 2010 levels after a 20% decline to 277,584 tonnes in 2011.
It consumes 40% of the country's electrical power, and a 2002 study found it responsible for notable fluorine water pollution in the region.
Coordinates: 38°32′55″N 68°13′40″E / 38.5485°N 68.2278°E
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