The State Assets Management Agency (SAMA) has announced the start of an open auction for the 100% government stake in Sherabad Cement Plant and the 99.55% government stake in Shargunkumir in a single lot.
Reportedly, the sale is aimed at converting the Sherabad Cement plant's production process from natural gas to coal fuel and ensure stable supply. Alkes Research is the consultant for the privatization.
The auction will be held in two stages: an Express of Interest (EoI) and a Binding Offer (BO). Both local and international investors are eligible to bid, while state-owned companies are not allowed.
In the first stage, applicants must provide information about the company, shareholders, and ultimate beneficiaries, three years of financial statements, and outline their approach to performing investment obligations. The project involves converting the cement plant to coal and investing at least $20 million in Shargunkumir to increase production capacity to 1 million tons of coal per year, beginning in the second half of 2026.
EoIs will be accepted until January 21, 2026.
The Sherabad Cement Plant in Surkhandarya province has a capacity to produce 1.5 million tons of cement per year. The plant has a total land area of 584.7 hectares, of which 84 hectares are in permanent use and 500.7 hectares are allocated for subsoil use, as well as buildings and structures with a total area of 57.5 square meters.
JSC Shargunkumir is one of Uzbekistan's leading underground and open-pit coal mining companies in Sariasia district of Surkhandarya province.
Shargunkumir has a coal deposit covering 39.7 hectares and a land plot totaling 58 hectares. The company's production capacity is 900,000 tons of coal per year, with actual production expected to reach this level in 2024. The company has its own 12.5-kilometer railway line, a dry coal enrichment plant, and offtake contracts. Proven coal reserves include 31.5 million tons of categories A, B, and C1, and 7.1 million tons of category C2.
The call for EoIs for the government stake in Shargunkumir opened in October and was scheduled to run through November 14. However, SAMA has not published the results of this stage.
