ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 30. The Chinese investor continues the construction of the largest porcelain tile plant in Central Asia in Kazakhstan, Trend reports, citing the Ministry of Industry and Construction.
The Wan Sheng Ceramics LLP plant is located in the Zhuldyz industrial zone in Shymkent.
The domestic porcelain tile market currently covers
approximately 35 million square meters. The initial stage of the
project will address one-third of the market need. Simultaneously,
further project implementation will fully supply the local market
with its own ceramic tiles.
The project's total investment is 25.5 billion tenge ($57 million).
The Chinese investor owns the entire investment.
As part of the implementation of the first stage in 2024, the plant plans to start with a production capacity of 12.7 million square meters of porcelain tiles per year, with the goal of doubling this figure to 25.4 million square meters by 2026.
As the ministry noted, thanks to the construction of the plant, about 700 jobs will be created, which, in turn, will contribute to the economic development of the region.
Notably, China became Kazakhstan's major commercial partner in 2023. In 2023, Kazakhstan's trade turnover with China was $31.4 billion. The volume of trade turnover increased by 30 percent from the same period in 2022 ($24.2 billion).
At the same time, in terms of trade turnover, exports to China during the aforementioned period totaled $14.7 billion, 14.7 percent greater than from January to December 2022 ($13 billion).
In addition, imports from China surged by 50.5 percent from January to December 2023, totaling $16.7 billion. In 2022, imports totaled $11.1 billion.
