“The government funds which was use to spent on unprofitable mining enterprises support will be going to modernization of those mines, which can be successfully privatized in the near future,” a government official explained.

Last year the Cabinet of Ministers did not shut down any of unprofitable mines, on the contrary government has allocated 4 billion grivnas to cover their expenses and obliged state-run power plants to buy coal exclusively from the state-owned mines. Furthermore, in 2009, the parliament approved tax privileges for any unprofitable mining enterprises.

“It is more expedient to spend funds directed to unprofitable mines for perspective enterprises development and modernization,” a cabinet official explained to daily Kommersant-Ukraine.

According to the official, the government will concentrate on the development of 63 state-run mines in 2010. Currently, there are 126 mines and management companies under the Ministry of Coal Industry control now.

The shares of construction company with total value of US$1.37 billion were issued on January 6, 2010. US$3.2 billion is required for the project achievement.

Construction on the Rogun Dam began back in 1976, and continued in starts and stops for the past 30 years. In 2004, the Tajik government formed a partnership with Russia’s Rusal to complete the project. Despite Rusal’s US$2 billion commitment to the project, Tajikistan authorities had canceled their contract in 2007.

Both sides disagreed on multiple regional considerations, notably the appropriate height of the dam. Russia had argued that the dam should be shorter than originally planned, due to seismic activity in the region, but Tajikistan insisted that the dam should reach a height of 1.099 feet (335 meters). Since the cancellation of the contract, Tajikistan had struggling to find investors to complete financing for the US$3.2 billion project.

At the beginning of December 2009, the government ordered that every family in the country would be required to pay US$690 to finance the completion of Rogun dam, while the average Tajik salary is only US$60 per month.

Earlier, the experts indicated the voluntary-compulsory nature of stocks promotion. The mass media reported the unofficial competition between the regional authorities on higher sales of the Rogun stocks. Some sources reported that even the students were forced to buy stocks in order pass the exams.

The purchase of the Rogun hydropower plant shares by the population became the reason of undermined food security in Tajikistan, monitoring report of UN World Food Program for Tajikistan, based on data, supplied by Rapid evaluation and coordination group under the Emergency Control Ministry said late April.

The deterioration of the food security in Tajikistan has been observed in the last three months and, in the opinion of authors of report, one of the reasons of such situation, especially in the rural area, is the purchase of the Rogun hydroelectric power plant stocks by the population. The report also indicates that over one third of Tajikistan’s population is affected by the downturn of the food security.

Tajikistan has some of the greatest hydroelectric power potential, largely untapped. The country has tapped only three percent of its hydroelectric capacity, which is estimated to be 527 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually.

Tajikistan currently generates approximately 16.5 billion kWh of electricity per year. Most of that is generated by the huge Nurek Dam, which was constructed from 1961-1980. It contains nine generating units each with a capacity of 300MW for a total capacity of 2.700MW. The reservoir behind the dam covers a surface area of 98 square kilometers.

This is the third try to pass the law on Casino through Ikh Khural. Two other drafts were rejected by the previous Parliament.

“Neighboring regions of neighboring countries don’t have any casinos or gambling centers, which allows such businesses to flourish in Mongolia,” deputies said to Business Mongolia. Law initiators believe that it will contribute to the Mongolian economy and revenue.

According to the draft document, one percent of casino income will be collected into the “Good Will” Foundation, a social welfare fund. The casino is going to be open only for foreigners and the government of Mongolia will own certain part of its asset.

The government of the country had signed a contract four years ago that will put a U.S. real-estate company, Winwheel Bullion, in charge of building a casino complex with hotels, shopping malls, banks and a modern airport to bring visitors across the vast distances needed to reach it. Neither the company nor the Mongolian side have provided any information about financial arrangements for the zone.

The government first awarded a contract to develop Zamyn Uud to a British Virgin Islands-registered company called Western Paradise, promising tax breaks and other incentives, but that deal fell through.

Zamyn-Uud FTZ is 900 hectares in size and located three kilometers east of the main town and three kilometers north of Erenhot city (usually shortened into Eriyen, Ereen or Erlian), Inner Mongolia, China.

A tiny town and railway depot, Zamyn Uud is about 350 miles northwest of Beijing, has a population of 10.000 inhabitants and is very much dependent upon the commercial activity generated by the neighboring Chinese city Erenhot.

The major employer in Zamyn-Uud is the Government of Mongolia, which employs approximately 700 people to manage and operate the Mongolian Railway. In this location, the railway is very important as it handles goods and products being transported from Russia to China (around 10 million tons per year), facilitates direct cross-border trade with China, and has a container loading and unloading facility (twenty wagons a day) to overcome the difference in rail gauge of the Mongolian and Chinese railway systems. Handling capacity of the transshipment facility is 60-80 wagons a day.

The city of Erenhot is experiencing fast economic growth. Its current population is estimated at almost two -hundred thousand residents while the per capita GDP of the city was at 14,000 Yuan in 2009.

Between Mongolia and China there presently is only one international port of entry operating on a permanent basis and nine bilateral ports of entry operating on a seasonal basis. Most prominent among these is the “Zamiin-Uud – Erenhot,” international port.Nine others, including “Bulgan” port in the province of Khobdo, “Gashuunsukhait” port in the province of South Gobi, and “Shiveekhuren,” also in South Gobi, are very crowded during the short season in which they operate.

According to the state’s statistic data 508.821 of Mongolian citizens traveled through the various ports of entry to Russia and China in 2000, but the majority – 266.221 passing through Zamyn Uud –Erenhot.

Last week Minister of Gas and Oil Sauat Mynbaev confirmed government plan to reconsider contracts with foreign mining companies with the exception of the Kashagar deposit which is being developed by joint efforts of Italy’s Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, U.S. Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil, Japanese Inpex and Kazakhstan’s Kazmunaigaz (KMG). KMG is the state-owned oil and gas company responsible for operating state oil and gas interests and pipelines.

The fifth largest in the world in terms of reserves, the Kashagar deposit lies off the northern shore of the Caspian Sea near the city of Atyrau. It’s being explored according to conditions of a special contract known as North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). Experts estimate that the field will start production in 2014. According to EIA data, initial production is projected at 450,000 bbl/d with peak production of 1.5 million bbl/d projected for the end of the next decade.

Another project to which the preferential taxation rule extends is Tengiz deposit which produced 377,000 bbl/d of crude oil and 38,000 bbl/d of condensate in 2008, and is the world’s deepest operating giant field at 12,000 feet deep.

The field has been developed since 1993 by the Tengizchevroil (TCO) joint venture, a 40-year US$20 billion agreement between Chevron (50 percent), ExxonMobil (25 percent), Kazmunaigas (20 percent) and LUKArco (5 percent), signed with the Kazakh government in 1993. Capacity is increasing and production is expected to peak at between 750,000 bbl/d and 1 million bbl/d by 2012. The Tengiz field is located along the northeast shore of the Caspian Sea and is the largest source of oil production in the country. Recoverable crude oil reserves have been estimated at 6-9 billion barrels by consortium member Chevron.

The minister Sauat Mynbaev refused to make comments on the situation connected with Tengiz, while noting that a negotiation on Karachaganak is in progress.

According to several reports, Kazakhstan’s economic crimes and corruption agency is now probing “illegal earnings” of 104 billion tenge ($708 million) at Karachaganak, saying that the end of the March the venture profited in 2008 from oil output that wasn’t approved by the state. In response, representatives of the consortium asserted that the venture is confident its business practices comply with Kazakhstani law.

Kazakhstan is cracking down on the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating BV venture while seeking to enter the country’s only major oil development without state participation. The government wants a stake to boost profit from the project, Kairgeldy Kabyldin, the head of state-run energy producer Kazmunaigaz National Co., said earlier to Bloomberg.

The field is operated by Karachaganak Petroleum (KPO) consortium under a production sharing agreement (PSA) which includes Agip and BG (who each own 32.5 percent), Chevron (20 percent), and Lukoil (15 percent). The PSA was signed in 1997 to develop the field for 40 years.

The Karachaganak deposit which lies close to the Russian Border produced 233,000 bbl/d of condensate in 2008 and is one of the world’s largest oil and gas condensate reserves. According to KPO data, the field holds reserves of around 8-9 billion barrels of oil and gas condensate and 47 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Kazakhstan’s law on subsoil and subsoil use governs the transfer of subsoil use rights and was amended in 2005 to give the state the basis to exercise pre-emption rights on any oil assets put up for sale in the country. The law was amended again in 2007 to allow the state to force retrospective changes to any existing oil contracts or even break the contracts if they are deemed a threat to the country’s security. Joint ventures are the most common type of investment; the government announced in early 2008 that no more PSAs will be awarded.

Answering journalists’ questions about the situation in Kyrgyzstan, a spokesman of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry underlined: “We’re faced with a serious international problem. Our President, Alexander Lukashenko is working on directions for a resolution. There is no doubt that this problem can be solved only within the framework of international law.”

Ensuring the Belarusian Embassy’s safety in the Kyrgyz Republic is under control, Andrei Savinykh said at a press briefing in Minsk. According to the spokesman, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry is working with local authorities in Bishkek, and “they are providing us all possible assistance.”

“The main problem, as you know, is uncontrolled destructive elements involved in riots and looting. It is important to note that this is a systemic threat is not only for us but for the Kyrgyz society in general. In this regard, we also implement a range of measures aimed to ensure security of the embassy staff and their families,” said Andrei Savinykh.

Earlier this week Kyrgyz bloggers launched a flash mob called “Let’s bombard the Belarusian president web-site with messages,” which was supported by many Internet users who expressed outrage towards Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s refusal to recognize his resignation from office saying that the interim had not kept their side of the promise to protect his family from harassment.

After his arrival in Belarus, the president of Kyrgyzstan declared his non-resignation as the head of state. In turn, Alexander Lukashenko noted that Kurmanbek Bakiyev can be dismissed from his post only be holding election in the Kyrgyzstan and the leader of the country should participate in it.

According to the opposition politician, there should be a “fair trial” in Kyrgyzstan against Kurmanbek Bakiyev. “If he’s a criminal, then we have no right to conceal such people in our country, it blows upon its prestige,” said activist leader “For Freedom” (Za Svabodu) movement, Alexander Milinkevich. “Firstly, I think that there should be an investigation on the case of the dead and injured during the Kyrgyz events. If Bakiyev is proved by trial, he should be in Kyrgyzstan, not hiding in Belarus,” he said.

Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongantiyev and First Deputy Prime Minister Akylbek Zhaparov were severely beaten by protesters in the town of Talas, where the unrest began on Tuesday, the Ferghana.ru news service reported. The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry denied reports that Kongantiyev had died of his injuries.

The protesters set fire to the prosecutor’s office and looted state television headquarters. Kyrgyz state television and state-controlled Channel Five have suspended broadcasting, reports Interfax.

The local White House has been taken over by opposition forces and Roza Otunbaeva has taken charge of the interim government. She informed journalists that Prime-Minister Daniyar Usenov “signed the resignation statement and personally submitted it to me. The opposition forces took over the power”, as quoted by RIAN. The resignation of  the Prime-Minister automatically means the resignation of the Cabinet Council.

The imprisoned opposition leaders Ismail Isakov, Erkin Bulekbaev, Saparbek Argynov and Uran Ryskulov were released although there were no legal sanctions or amnesty granted. The opposition leaders and various marginal men (who also refer to themselves as opposition members) gave live interviews on state television channel.

Meanwhile unknown people devastated the Kyrgyz national arts museum, named after Gapar Aitiev. The collection included precious paintings of Russian and Soviet artists like Vrubel, Levitan, Falk and other famous impressionists.

Their has been no word from Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev till now. He has not addressed the nation since the events started and there are only unconfirmed rumours that he might be in the south gathering support there. Interfax informed that on the night of April 7 Bakiev’s house was looted and burned with people grabbing personal belongings, bed-clothes, dishes, rugs and whatever they could lay their hands on. Not a single fire-engine arrived at the scene. The location of the president’s teammates and relatives has not been yet reported. According to unofficial sources, the President’s son Maxim Bakiev was on his way to the United States to attend  investment forum on April 8 in Washington DC. The event was pre-planned and turned out to be perfect timing for him.

The Russian Federation had hinted that it no longer supported the Bakiev regime. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called the unrest “a purely internal matter” and accused Kyrgyzstan’s president of “stepping on the same rake” as his predecessor, Askar Akayev. Both Bakiyev and Akayev incited public anger over alleged widespread corruption and nepotism in their administrations.

Askar Akayev, who now lives in Moscow, urged Bakiyev to step down. “The best outcome for the people of Kyrgyzstan would be the resignation of Bakiyev,” Akayev said on Ekho Moskvy radio.

“The single reason for these protests is Bakiyev and his politics”, said former independent RF Duma Deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov to Moscow Times. He said the Kyrgyz government was a classic dictatorship — “oppressive, corrupt and clannish — there are very good grounds to overthrow it. Russia has a huge influence over economically weak Kyrgyzstan. If it sends a mission with an energetic leader, it can act as a peacemaker,”. By not responding, Moscow risks losing the support of the Kyrgyz, “a people who are traditionally very friendly toward us,” he said.

The U.S. State Department is clueless as to how to manage the situation and said on Wednesday that the United States believes the Kyrgyz government is still in power despite claims that opposition had seized control. “We continue to think the government remains in power,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, while adding – “We have no indication that the government has ceased to function …the situation is difficult, but not to the extent that there are claims that the government has fallen, we don’t have that information”.

Kyrgyzstan achieved independence with the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991. Though still an impoverished Central Asian nation, it’s seen as a strategic asset in both Moscow and Washington. Immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, U.S. set up a military base in Kyrgyzstan to support the war in Afghanistan. But in February 2009, at the same press conference that announced the gift of $2.1 billion in Russian aid to the Kyrgyz, President Bakiyev also announced the closure of the U.S. air base. He later backtracked, offering United States continued use of the base, but at three times the original rent.

Last month alone, more than 50,000 U.S. and coalition troops passed through Manas en route to Afghanistan according to U.S. military officials. The U.S. agreement allowing American use of the base in Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous is set to expire soon.

According to statistics, Kyrgyzstan’s population is now 5.4 million. The country’s gross domestic product in 2008 was $4 billion while main exports are cotton, tobacco, gold, mercury, uranium and natural gas.

Addressing the issue at a public event titled “Legality and Transparency of the State Control as a Basis of Consumer Rights Protection,” the authorities didn’t point out what criteria they are going to use to judge businesses and “to die-cast them as wolves or innocent sheep.”

At the same time, the vice-minister of MEDT Timur Sulejmenov informed that the state is going to reduce the number of checks in different spheres. They will be twice reduced in sanitation inspections, veterinary practice and plants while checks on seed-growing and the grain and cotton markets is going to be reduced by six times.
The chairman of the Legal Statistics Committee of the SOPP, Marat Ahmetzhanov said that in 2009 there were 853 illegal checks of business from the state. “Last year we refused to register 1154 certificates of inspection appointments where we are able to prevent them from being illegally carried out,” Ahmetzhanov confirms.

According to General Public Prosecutor Kajrat Mami, last year more than 11,000 infringements during inspection conductions were revealed, which were basically classified as unreasonable intervention of law-enforcement bodies in business affairs. “Some officials forced businessmen to sponsor programs and such examples can be seen in South Kazakhstan, Pavlodar and other areas of the country,” said Mami, adding that “even some NGO’s in Kostanajsky and South Kazakhstan areas are trying to conduct illegal business checks by themselves.”

Answering questions of local journalists, the MEDT vice-minister Timur Sulejmenov admitted that at the given stage all attempts to supervise mutual relations between businesses and the state have actually failed: “Despite the presence legislative possibilities, real protection of the legitimate rights of businessmen is carried out inefficiently.” He also informed that the Ministry of Economic Development intends to found a businessmen’s rights protection committee within its body.

“I can report that 20 thousand tons of wheat has been exported to the Peoples Republic of China for the first time,” said Kazakhstan’s Vice-Premier Umirzak Shukeev during the meeting.

Earlier, during negotiations between Kazakhstan’s national corporation ‘Prodkorporatsija’ and China’s leading grain, oil, and food trading group COFCO, the ‘Prodkorporatsija’ stated their readiness to deliver around 150 thousand tons of high-quality wheat to the PRC market.

“The serious barrier to advancement of Kazakhstan grain to world markets is the absence of a direct transit route to seaports. The expense of transfer tariffs for each ton of grain rises approximately 50 dollars,” said Shukeev.

In this regard, the Kazakhstan government plans to initiate and complete export infrastructure construction including a railway grain terminal along the Kazakhstan – PRC border by 2013. The terminal will directly link Dostyk station (Kazakhstan territory) and Alashankou (Sintszjan-Uigur Independent Area, Northwest China). The single storage capacity of the terminal is put at one million tons of grain.

Shukeev also stated that the coordination of the project by governmental order has provided a direct means of reducing the transportation costs of the grain through China and this rate stands at 40 US$ per ton.

According to the ‘Kazakh-grain’ news agency, the country topped world wheat flour exports in 2007 and now maintains 6th place among the world’s largest grain exporters. Last year, the country’s share from the world’s total wheat flour export amount stood at 18 percent.

The Associated Press
Friday, February 19, 2010; 6:46 AM

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Turkmenistan is set to allow the creation of a second political party this year, breaking up the one-party system that has been in place since the Central Asian nation gained independence, state media reported Friday.

The only political force registered in the ex-Soviet nation is the pro-government Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, which is closely modeled on the Communist Party.

“If anyone wishes to propose creating a new political party, we can register one this year, as stipulated by the Constitution,” President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov said at a government meeting Thursday. The constitution that was adopted in 1992 allows for the formation of political parties.

It was not immediately clear to what extent the new party could diverge from the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan. It’s a common practice in former Soviet Central Asia to create nominal opposition parties loyal to the government.

Most active government opponents have fled the energy-rich Central Asian nation, where dissent is not tolerated.

Berdymukhamedov came to power in December 2006 after the death of Saparmurat Niyazov, who kept Turkmenistan largely isolated in two decades of authoritarian rule and an all-encompassing personality cult.

Berdymukhamedov has made vague commitments to implement democratic reforms, kindling hopes the Central Asian country would introduce greater freedoms.

But critics say Berdymukhamedov has failed to live up to his pledges.

In the 2008 parliamentary elections, almost all elected deputies were from the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan. A small number of independent candidates drawn from state-approved civic groups were also allowed to run. Everybody competed on a platform of support for Berdymukhamedov.

Under reforms enacted earlier in 2008, the number of seats in Parliament was more than doubled to 125, and the chamber’s powers were nominally boosted.

Another seminal development was the abolition of the rubber-stamp People’s Council – a 2,507-member assembly of presidential appointees, town elders and others that was formerly Turkmenistan’s highest legislative body.

Khan Resources is a uranium development company based in Mongolia, with their subsidiary Central Asian Uranium Company Ltd. (CAUC) primarily focused on the Dornod province in the country’s northeast.

CNNC’s acquisition would grant them a 58 percent stake in CAUC and access to the Dornod field, which has at least 22,000 tons of uranium reserves.

This news comes after an unsuccessful attempt at a hostile takeover of the Canadian company by Russia’s state-owned AtomRedMetZoloto in December, who has a 21 percent stake in CAUC.