Kazakh Minister for Investment and Development Asset Issekeshev presented plans for more than 6 billion tenge (US$32.1 million) of road reconstruction and industry development in the West Kazakhstan region, according to a Jan. 17 ministry press release.
Asset Issekeshev inspects business development in West Kazakhstan
“A working group headed by the Minister for Investment and Development Asset Issekeshev arrived in the West Kazakhstan region. The minister held a meeting in Uralsk on the development of the manufacturing industry and infrastructure in the region, as well as the stable operation of enterprises. Funding for repair and reconstruction of local roads in the current year is 6.3 billion tenge (US$33.7 million). The planned reconstruction of the roads includes routes along the Uralsk-Kamenka-Russian border and major repairs of the Chapaevo-Zhalpaktal-Kaztalovka and Kaztalovka-Zhanibek-Russian border roads, as well as the regular repair of the Uralsk-Tyoploye-Russian border. Last year, the length of reconstructed and renovated roads of national and local importance was 130 kilometres; this year the government plans to repair another 234 kilometres. This work will involve 13,000 people,” said the statement.
The information indicated that the meeting stressed the importance of implementing the Nurly Zhol economic programme and the second five-year plan of the State Programme of Accelerated Industrial and Innovative Development for 2015-2019. To this end, the ministry and the akimat (the regional government) signed a joint action plan for the year.
“The minister was also acquainted with the work of the West Kazakhstan engineering company. The company designs and manufactures high-tech equipment for the production, preparation and transportation of oil and gas and complex steelworks; the manufacture of the first Kazakh gas compressor units and gas turbine power plants started here. A service centre on the basis of this enterprise will be created for repair of gas turbine installations, maintenance and repair of systems of automation and management systems based on technology licensed from General Electric. Also, the factory is engaged in the repair of aircraft engines,” explained the release.
Issekeshev also visited the Ural transformer plant, which began to produce three-phase power transformers late last year.
“The design capacity of the enterprise is 10,000 units per year. The project is worth 3.1 billion tenge (US$16.6 million). Of this, 500 million tenge (US$2.7 million) are our own funds and the rest is borrowed. Three hundred new jobs were created at the plant. The project was supported within the framework of the 2020 Business Roadmap through the subsidy of the interest rate of remuneration for the loan amounting to 2.6 billion tenge (US$13.9 million) and the gas supply worth 17.3 million tenge (US$92,523). Potential customers of the transformers are large oil and gas companies, energy enterprises and the railway companies. In the future, the plant plans to export most of its products to the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries,” said the press release.
