The Prime
Minister has made it clear that the Oyu Tolgoi agreement is not an inviolate
template and the decision on Tavan Tolgoi will stay clear of the mistakes in it,
says The Mongolian Mining Journal in its April issue. He has identified the
principal areas where the departure will be seen. Mongolian companies and
individuals will play a larger role in developing the project in cooperation
with foreign investors and operators, and the benefit to national interests
will be the main criterion for selection of the investor(s). Preference will be
given to companies and consortiums with their national Government behind them.
Not only will the “advance payment” demanded be “much more than in the case of
Oyu Tolgoi”, but the Prime Minister has indicated that selection of their
companies would be conditional on Russia and China agreeing to reduce transit
transport rates and, in the case of Russia, on its agreeing to buy more meat
from Mongolia. With regard to the USA,
the demand will extend to a free trade agreement and offering opportunities for
young Mongolians to study in the USA. Advance payment will thus not
be in cash only. There would be other demands also, such as a USD2 billion fund
for the infrastructure projects in the southern Gobi region, setting up of
value added production plants, and import of advanced technology.