The Russian government has expanded the boundaries of the Black Sea/Azov Sea port of Taman in preparation for the start of construction of the second stage of JSC Togliattiazot’s new ammonia and urea terminal.
The order for the boundary expansion was signed by Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Feb. 19 and includes additional land plots to accommodate the capacity expansion, Interfax reported.
Construction of the first stage of the terminal, which will provide for 2 million mt/y of ammonia handling and throughput capacity, is well advanced. Operations could start as soon as the second quarter of this year, according to an Interfax report in January, citing Russia’s Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Mikhail Yurin (GM Jan. 26, p. 24).
The second stage of development is aimed at taking the terminal’s total handling capacity to 3.5 million mt/y of ammonia and also to provide 1.5 million mt/y of urea handling capacity. Construction of the second stage was originally scheduled for 2024-2025.
Total investment in the construction of the new export facility is put at RUB60 billion, or approximately $653.5 million at current exchange rates.
The new terminal will allow for the establishment of new routes for the supply of ammonia and urea to external and domestic markets, said Mishustin, as cited by this week’s report.
The start-up of the new handling facility will enable Togliattiazot, controlled by Uralchem and Russia’s biggest ammonia producer and exporter, to return to full capacity following the company’s suspension of ammonia transit through the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline on Feb. 25, 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.