Uzbekistan will hold a second tender to sell a 35.55% government stake in Uzbekistan’s largest coal producer, Uzbekugol (Uzbek Coal), an Uzbek government agency said on Monday.

The starting price for the stake amounts to US$30.58 million, the Uzbek State Property Committee said.

Bids will be accepted until 22 June 2007. The results of the tender will be determined in July-September.

The buyer of the stake will also have to assume responsibility for financing the company’s investment program, estimated at US$232 million.

The first tender was cancelled as only one bid was filed. The first tender was announced in October 2006 and then prolonged till 12 March.

Aside from the 35.55% stake in Uzbekugol, the government also owns a 51% stake, of which 26% is held by Uzbek state power utility Uzbekenergo and 25% is held by a company called Tashkent Management. Another 8.45% in Uzbekugol is owned by minority shareholders and 5% is controlled by the company’s employees.

Uzbekugol accounts for 98% of Uzbekistan’s total coal output and develops the Angrenskoye brown coal deposit, which has explored coal reserves of 1.9 billion tonnes.