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The Russian-owned enterprise promises to be one of the biggest foil producers in CIS.

Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan was on hand to join the Russian-owned company’s vice president Alexander Livshits.

“As a result of re-equipment Armenia has acquired the best plant of this kind,” said Livshits. “And, although its production will be exported, Armenia will get taxes, employment, etc.”

The only foil producer in the Caucasus and Central Asia, this plant claims to become one of the three largest foil producing enterprises in the CIS in two years.

One of Armenia’s largest enterprises since the Soviet times, Kanaker’s aluminum plant was renamed Armenal after becoming the property of Rusal in 2000, and has recently been renamed again into “Rusal Armenal”. (See http://www.armenianow.com/?action=viewArticle&AID=1515&lng=eng)

The complex project of the plant’s repairs was launched in November 2004 for the purpose of establishing a whole cycle of aluminum foil production here and ensuring a quality assortment. The total cost of the plant’s re-equipment project is $70 million, of which $20 million has been invested by Rusal, and the rest was lent by a number of German banks.

Armenia’s Armenal aluminum plant resumed the production of foils in December 2005, when the first-stage of renovation was completed.

After a one-year large-scale complex renovation a trial batch of foil was produced when in December the plant was visited by Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan and Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.

According to the plant’s shop superintendent Arzuman Tamazyan, the new 15-micron thick foil production will be used as food-packing (for milk, sweets, beverages).

The plant employs about 700, who get an average salary of around $200 a month.