KULOB, July 12, Asia-Plus - In January-June 2006, industrial enterprises in the city and the district of Kulob have produced a total of 17,663,400 Somonis’ worth of goods, which is 3 million Somonis more compared to the same period of the last year, Deputy Kulob Mayor, Ismatullo Nusratov said.  

According to him, the private sector has made a considerable contribution to this.  “In the first half-year of 2005, the private sector had produced 2.672 million Somonis’ worth of industrial goods, while over the first six months of this year enterprises of the private sector in Kulob have produced goods for 5.69 million Somonis,” Mr. Nusratov said, noting that compared to January-June 2005 the index of the volume of production of industrial goods by the private sector has amounted to 212.9 percent.  

The Kulob official pointed to the importance of the private sector for development of Kulob economy, noting that many state-run enterprises had not reached the last year’s level.  Moreover, some of them had not been in operation. 

“In January-June 2006, the cotton ginning factory “Pakhatai Kulob” has reached only 10.9 percent of the 2005 level,” said the Kulob deputy mayor, “The Kulob brickworks has brought down production of bricks from 3.15 million pieces to 1.526 million pieces.”  Kulob gas fields have produced 1.525 million cubic meters of natural gas over the same six-month period against 7.551 million cubic meters produced in January-June 2005, according to him. 

In the meantime, the Baljuvon district in the Kulob region of Khatlon has produced almost one million Somonis’ worth of industrial goods over the first six months of this year.   

Speaking to journalists, the district head Beg Qurbonov said that compared to January-June 2005 the index of the volume of production of industrial goods in the district ahs amounted to 138 percent.  Over the same six-month period, the district has extracted 893 tons of oil and 600,000 cubic meters of natural gas, and produced 645 tons of wheat flour and 57 tons of bread.  According to Mr. Qurbonov, 1,802,600 million Somonis have been assimilated on the construction of residential buildings.  They have built housing with an overall space of 1,068 square meters in January-June 2006.