ASTANA ( WNAM MONITOIRNG ): Kazakhstan is undertaking 17 projects focused on high-value-added production, with a total investment of 14.3 trillion tenge (US$26.7 billion), expected to generate over 24,600 jobs, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov announced on July 20.
Once fully operational, they are projected to increase exports by six trillion tenge (US$11.2 billion) and reduce imports by 1.5 trillion tenge (US$2.8 billion) annually.
To support industrial enterprises, the country has 16 special economic zones and 55 industrial zones, which have produced over 15 trillion tenge (US$28 billion) in goods and created more than 48,600 jobs.
A differentiated approach introduced in 2024 links the volume of investment to the scale of benefits granted: the higher the investment, the more benefits.
KAZ Minerals Smelting and Mineral Product International will redirect raw materials previously exported (copper concentrate, coal, semi-coke, quartzite) towards domestic processing.
Meanwhile, KIA Qazaqstan and Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan are building supply chains around their new automobile factories.
Among other projects are the Tengri Tyres tire plant, launched in Saran in July 2024; the Kazakhstan Mobility Engineering multimedia systems factory launched in Almaty in October 2024; the Almaty Autoparts Production seat manufacturing plant, set to open in 2025; Vector Pavlodar, a cast aluminum wheels production enterprise; and Qarmet, which will produce automotive steel.
Bektenov highlighted that manufacturing output has increased by 7.9 trillion tenge (US$14.7 billion) since 2021, and exports of processed goods have risen by 45.1% to $28.8 billion. Investment in fixed assets also jumped by 34.6% during the same period.
For 2023–2032, projects are being implemented to modernize assets, digitize operations, conduct research and development work, and develop high-tech production capabilities.
An integrated gas chemical complex producing 500,000 tons of polypropylene annually was launched, resulting in a decrease in imports from 25,000 tons in 2022 to 7,000 tons in 2024. Twelve grades of polypropylene are now produced domestically, five of which were previously fully imported. Exports have expanded to Türkiye, China, Russia, and the European Union.
Ongoing projects include facilities for the production of butadiene and its derivatives, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and terephthalic acid, establishing a foundation for a high-tech chemical industry in Kazakhstan.
