ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 29. During a meeting of the economic growth task force, chaired by the Vice Prime Minister – Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin, issues regarding the development of the East Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions, as well as the agricultural sector, were discussed, according to a report from the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Trend reports.
"In the Pavlodar region, Kazakhstan has formed a pool of 85 investment projects until 2030 worth 6.8 trillion tenge ($13.6 billion), creating over 12,300 jobs. Among them are five large metallurgical projects that will allow the region's metallurgy industry to increase production by 29.4 percent by 2028. These include the construction of two ferroalloy plants with capacities of 160,000 tons and 240,000 tons, the Aksu Electrometallurgical Plant with a capacity of 89,600 tons, a technical silicon production plant with a capacity of 35,000 tons, and the establishment of a ferroalloy production facility in Ekibastuz with a capacity of 60,000 tons," the statement says.
A significant portion of the cost structure of metallurgical enterprises is made up of electricity. At the meeting, the Deputy Akim (Governor) of Pavlodar Region, Dauren Zhambaybek, noted that the current unified electricity tariff, regardless of territorial remoteness or connection point, leads to a significant increase in the cost of production and higher production costs for these projects.
Between 2024 and 2028, a pool of 51 investment projects has been formed in the North Kazakhstan region (NKO), which will create over 7,100 jobs. Of these, 15 were implemented in 2024, and it is planned to launch 11 more projects this year, amounting to 87 billion tenge ($174 million) and creating over 1,100 jobs.
Rustem Kurmanov, Deputy Akim of NKO, raised several issues that
have arisen in the implementation of investment projects.
“First of all, bringing the necessary engineering infrastructure to
the subzones and expanding the list of priority activities in the
special economic zone ‘Qyzyljar,’ where 21 participants are
registered. Another issue is the construction of a landfill for
solid waste disposal in Petropavlovsk. The operating landfill's
service life will expire this year, so a new one needs to be
constructed. The region has already submitted a funding request,
and it is necessary to expedite its approval for financial
allocation,” underscored Kurmanov.
As a result of the meeting, the Vice Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Economy to prepare a list of engineering-infrastructure and bureaucratic barriers hindering the development of investment projects in the regions by the end of the first quarter to be addressed promptly at the government level.
In the Pavlodar region, Kazakhstan, short-term economic growth from January through February amounted to 5.9 percent compared to the same period last year. In the North Kazakhstan region, economic growth for the past two months has already reached 11.1 percent.