South Korea to Talk Gas With Uzbeks

News Briefing Central Asia

Thursday, 18 August, 2011

South Korea to Talk Gas With Uzbeks

South Korean president Lee Myung-bak’s forthcoming visit to Uzbekistan is likely to focus on the country’s natural gas sector, NBCentralAsia commentators say.

Lee starts a two-day trip to Uzbekistan on August 23.

Analysts predict that his talks with President Islam Karimov will focus on investment in a projected gas processing plant at Ustyurt in northwest Uzbekistan, which the two leaders agreed on last year. The 3.5 billion US dollar facility is expected to be completed in 2014 and will produce polypropylene and polyethylene for export to Russia and Iran.

Lee and Karimov will also discuss possible development of gas deposits in Uzbekistan.

South Korea is a key economic partner of Uzbekistan, with investment in a number of sectors, including a 200 million dollar project to upgrade the airport at Navoi and a subsequent lease arrangement allowing the facility to be used to handle air freight heading for NATO forces in Afghanistan.

This article was produced as part of IWPR's News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.

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