MINSK, 15 March (BelTA) – The Belarusian company OAO Belgorkhimprom demands that arrears for services rendered as part of the project to build the Garlyk mining and processing factory be collected from Turkmenistan and the state concern Turkmenhimiya. The demands were presented by the Belarusian company during arbitration proceeding under the aegis of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in January 2019, BelTA learned from the Belgorkhimprom website.
According to the Belarusian company, in March 2017 Turkmenistan accepted into service the Garlyk mining and processing factory and admitted the plant had been built as per specifications.
In line with the contract the Turkmen side was supposed to operate the factory under the supervision of Belgorkhimprom specialists. “However, the Turkmen side refused to pay for the services rendered and prevented Belarusian specialists from providing technical support for the factory's operation. According to the available data, the Turkmen side is busy trying to operate the enterprise on its own without the necessary practical experience. There are substantial reasons to believe that the factory is being operated improperly,” the website reads.
Turkmenistan also unlawfully interferes with the extraction of Belgorkhimprom construction machines and vehicles worth over $7 million from the country.
Belgorkhimprom views Turkmenistan's actions as contradictory to the country's own interests. If properly operated, the Garlyk mining and processing factory can secure a substantial share of the regional market of mineral fertilizers for Turkmenistan. Due to mismanagement of the enterprise only a small share of its full potential has been tapped.
Turkmenistan's failure to pay to Belgorkhimprom for services rendered represents another example of the country defaulting on its contractual commitments to foreign partners. OAO Belgorkhimprom is disappointed because the company's efforts to help Turkmenistan become a regional leader in producing potash fertilizers can be derailed by a series of short-sighted decisions of the Turkmen side.
The dispute is now being looked into by the Stockholm arbitration court. Turkmenistan played an active role in signing and executing the contract. All the key decisions in the course of the project were made by high-ranking Turkmen officials. In February 2019 the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce authorized naming Turkmenistan as a party to the litigation at this stage of the arbitration proceedings. OAO Belgorkhimprom is resolute to defend its claims, the website of the Belarusian company reads.
