Tashkent Region discussed with MAZ the production of trucks at the Krantas plant in Nurafshan

Talks in Minsk on localizing production

A delegation of Tashkent Region led by khokim Zoir Mirzaev, during a working visit to Belarus, visited the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) and held talks with its Director General Valery Ivankovich, the regional administration's press service reported. The parties discussed developing industrial cooperation and 'mutually beneficial investment projects', as well as initiatives to create new production facilities using existing capacities in Uzbekistan.

What exactly was proposed

The central topic was the possibility of localizing production of municipal and special-purpose vehicles — garbage trucks, tanker trucks and crane manipulators — at the Nurafshon-maxsus-texnika plant (the Krantas brand) in Nurafshan. To renew the fleet of public and freight transport in the region's cities, the sale of vehicles in installments or leasing deliveries were proposed, which, according to the participants' plan, should reduce the financial burden and ensure phased modernization. Separate areas named included the production of components, including frame parts, the training of technical specialists, the exchange of engineering experience, as well as the opening of a MAZ service center and a spare parts warehouse in the region.

Context: the Krantas plant and its plans

The Nurafshon-maxsus-texnika plant in Nurafshan produces special-purpose vehicles, military equipment, tractors and truck bodies under the Krantas brand; in July it was visited by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The enterprise is equipped with machinery from the USA, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia, China and Turkey, and the project's cost was estimated at $50 million. At that time, the company presented plans to build a new special-purpose vehicle plant in the Yangihayot district on a 10-hectare site, with localization of output at $15–18 million per year through import substitution, and co-founder Akmal Karimov spoke about the armored vehicles 'Tarlon', 'Kalkon-1' and 'Kalkon-2', the 'Arslon' armored personnel carriers and the 'Tufon' self-propelled artillery guns developed by the enterprise. Krantas also plans serial production of trucks and pickups of up to 10,000 units per year, including the Krantas 4×4 pickup for export. Thus, the talks with MAZ about producing trucks at the Nurafshan site logically complement the company's already announced plans for freight vehicles; however, for now this is a matter under discussion, not signed agreements — sources do not report any specific decisions or timelines.