Industrial Construction in All Rear Areas of the Soviet Union
In the Kyrgyz SSR, as in all rear areas of the Soviet Union, industrial construction did not stop for a single day. Factories and plants, mines and quarries, power stations and railways were put into operation at an accelerated pace, contributing to the strengthening and expansion of the military-economic base of the country.
In January 1942, the construction of the Aktuz lead mine, which had begun in the pre-war years, was successfully completed. In February of the same year, the Aktuz mine, accepted by a special commission, was put into operation, supplying raw materials for the Chimkent (Kazakh SSR) lead plant.
The production of military equipment, armaments, and ammunition required a large amount of non-ferrous metals.
The situation with mercury extraction was particularly difficult. The Donetsk region, with its Nikitovsky mercury plant, which was the only supplier of this valuable strategic raw material in peacetime, was occupied by fascist invaders by the end of 1941. As early as July 1941, the construction of Metallurgical Plant No. 5 for mercury production began in the republic. A land plot of 1150 hectares, belonging to the collective farms "Khaidarken" and "Koy-tash" of the Birlik village council in the Frunze district of the Osh region, was allocated for the new construction.
By October 1, 1941, it was planned to put the Guld furnaces into operation, and by November 1 — the enrichment plant, compressor, diesel, and water supply. The builders received significant assistance. For instance, the Osh regional executive committee allocated a considerable number of workers and more than 40 cargo trucks, while the Fergana region of the Uzbek SSR mobilized over 1000 workers-builders to Khaidarken.
However, capital construction in 1941 was carried out extremely slowly. The annual plan was fulfilled by only 12.7%.
The construction of the plant was a focus of attention for the party and government and was declared a shock construction project.
All technical documentation for the work was reviewed, designs and individual parts were simplified, and imported materials were replaced with local ones. To strengthen the management of construction, in early 1942, Deputy People's Commissar of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR V. Frolov was assigned to Khaidarken.
The government allocated 26.5 million rubles for capital construction compared to 19 million rubles in 1941. All major work was carried out under the conditions of an extraordinarily harsh winter of 1941/42. Deep snowfalls and frequent snowstorms created enormous difficulties. Builders had to systematically clear work sites of snow and use warm solutions for laying walls and foundations. In June 1942, the Khaidarken Mercury Plant of the Kyrgyz SSR was fully put into operation.
Due to the enemy's occupation of the western industrially developed areas of the USSR, the collection of production waste, especially of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, gained significant importance in creating additional raw material resources.
To enhance operational management of this important task, a special body was established in Frunze — the branch of "Glavvtorchermet" of the People's Commissariat of Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR with special representatives for the regions. In the first year of the war, more than 5656 tons of scrap metal were collected and handed over in the republic.
In accordance with the decree of the SNK of the USSR and the Central Committee of the VKP(b) dated September 7, 1940, "On Measures for Further Raising Agriculture and Especially Technical Cultures in the Kyrgyz SSR," construction of the Tokmak Sugar Plant began as early as August 1941, and in September, the Belovodsk Sugar Plant was started, designed for standard equipment. However, its delivery under wartime conditions proved impossible.
Therefore, it was decided to equip the two enterprises with equipment from the evacuated Poltava, Karelofinsky ("Ai-trea"), and Astrakhan sugar plants relocated to the republic.
On September 28, 1942, the Novo-Troitsk Sugar Plant was commissioned as a result of expanding production capacities and merging it with the evacuated Smolyan Sugar Plant.
Evacuation of Industry to the Territory of Kyrgyzstan