By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

Ganja automobile plant and Minsk tractor plant may extend the contract for production of "Belarus" tractors in Azerbaijan until the end of 2018, director of Ganja automobile plant Kamran Nazarov told Trend on June 5.

He said that the plant took part in the Belagro 2018 international exhibition being held in Minsk. Within the exhibition, negotiations were held with the General Director of the Minsk tractor plant (MTP) Fyodor Domotenko, during which expansion of the model range of tractors produced in Azerbaijan as well as increasing the number of tractors that will be produced this year in Ganja were discussed.

“In the near future, the plant will complete the assembly of tractors under the previous contract, involving the production of 1,000 vehicles. Thus, there is an opportunity to extend the contract until the end of this year,” Nazarov said.

He added that the number of tractors to be assembled at the enterprise under the new agreement will be determined during the negotiations.

The plant director noted that the project of Ganja automobile plant on production of export-oriented products and technologies as well as access to the markets of third countries, involving the construction of a plant in Turkey, was also discussed.

“The construction of the new enterprise is going at an accelerated pace. On June 5, the governor of the Kirikkale province Ilker Haktankacmaz visited the construction site of the tractor factory in Turkey and got acquainted with the work,” Nazarov said.

At the end of 2017, the Ganja and Minsk plants signed a strategic cooperation agreement, which opened up opportunities for the Azerbaijani enterprise to establish production in Turkey. The agreement, in particular, involves the expansion of the geography of the brand presence and the increase in sales through the creation of a joint venture in Turkey for the further promotion of tractors in that market.

Presently, the Ganja Automobile Plant specializes on assembling of Russian “Oka” and “UAZ” cars, Belarusian “MAZ” and “Belarus” tractors, Chinese “Changan” vans & trucks and other vehicles. The plant is capable of assembling up to 1,000 trucks and 2,000 tractors each year. The Ganja plant cooperates with a number of international partners, including German.