Linde announces Russian ammonia joint venture

German industrial gas group Linde said on Tuesday it had agreed to set up a joint venture to build and operate an ammonia plant with Russian chemicals company JSC KuibyshevAzot.

The new “state-of-the-art” plant is to be built at a total cost of 275 million euros ($355 million) at Togliatti in Russia’s Samara region, Linde said in a statement.

The ammonia will be used in the process of making nitrogen fertiliser.

Both partners will have an equal stake in the joint venture, which is to be called Linde Nitrogen Togliatti.

“This project not only strengthens our presence in Samara, but also our position as the leading gases and engineering company in the fast-growing Russian market,” said Linde board member Aldo Belloni.

The plant will have a production capacity of 1,340 tonnes of ammonia per day and construction work is scheduled for completion in 2016, Linde said.