On July 23 the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dismissed Samir Jafarov from the Chairman of the Board of JSC Azerbaijan Steel Production Complex (ASPC).
In ASPC they told Turan that the decision of the head of state was sudden for the state company. Samir Jafarov was at his office until yesterday.
Samir Jafarov received a bachelor's and a master's degree and doctorate in International Relations at the universities of Uludag and Hacettepe in Turkey. Then he did science at MSU. He worked in senior positions in a Turkish company engaged in metal processing. He started creating metallurgy companies in several countries. Finally, he started a business. From 2008 to 2014 he was head of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Turkey.
According to the statutes, the Chairman of the Board of ASPC has 3 deputies appointed and dismissed by the decision of the President. However, such appointments did not take place.
ASPC was established in April of 2013. That same year, the Japanese Marubeni Corporation was engaged by the Ministry of Economy and Industry to develop a feasibility study for the establishment of a new metallurgical complex consisting of several companies - from iron ore to finished products. They wanted to involve a company in the design and construction of the complex.
ASPC was created in the midst of the situation around the idea of the construction of a metallurgical complex in Ganja. Det.Al Holding, which privatized 97% of the shares of Dashkesan Mining Plant, and LLC Baku Steel Company applied for that. The government took away the shares of Dashkesan Mining Plant from Det.Al Holding and created its own company on this base. According to the state budget for 2014-2015, the establishment of a new metallurgical complex was allocated several million manat.
However, in these circumstances, the leadership of LLC Baku Steel Company did not give up the ambitions of conquering the Dashkesan iron ore deposits.
Some experts suggest that the removal of Samir Jafarov from the office is the first symptom of victory of LLC Baku Steel Company. At the second step the state can pass control of ASPC to LLC Baku Steel Company and in this the struggle for Azerbaijan iron ore will be completed. -----08B
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