ASTANA – The 2015-2019 State Programme of Industrial and Innovative Development (SPIID) has contributed to increasing the manufacturing industry volume by 5.7 percent while raising industry exports by 10.5 percent last year compared to 2015, said Minister for Investment and Development Zhenis Kassymbek during the March 27 government meeting.
Photo credit: kapital.kz
The growth was the result of increases in metallurgy, oil refining, the chemical industry, pharmacy and food production, the minister told the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev. Manufacturing exports totalled $15.5 billion and investment volume increased 8.8 percent from 2015, reaching approximately $3 billion.
Kazakhstan’s manufacturing products are exported to 122 countries. The nation is among the top five suppliers and occupies an 8-percent share of the imports to Central Asia countries. Supplying products to neighbouring countries grew by 30 percent, or $1.5 billion.
In the last three years, SPIID has generated 378 projects worth $9.4 billion, resulting in 30,000 jobs. The ministry added 150 new projects valued up to $3.1 billion, creating 15,000 jobs by the end of the year. A Prommashkomplekt railway wheels production complex and Asia Steel Pipe Corporation factory manufacturing large diameter welded pipes are among the projects, according to Kassymbek.
He noted the ministry has initiated the industrial-innovative development concept for 2020-2024 and will finish the work by the end of the year. While in the drafting phase, Sagintayev suggested Kassymbek consider possible new technologies.
Despite the good results and manufacturing industry growth, its share of the economy has not exceeded 11 percent in recent years, he added.
Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov and Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev summed up SPIID’s results for 2017. The former noted the quality of the programme planning, as SPIID indicators were not revised, achieving 78 percent of their goals.
The second stage of reconstructing and modernising the Shymkent oil refinery will end this year, increasing the refining depth to 87-90 percent, said Bozumbayev.
A polypropylene production plant with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes and six major projects will be implemented in the energy sector. The Pavlodar oil refinery was also modernised.
“The motor fuels production of ecological K4 and K5 classes and production of 100 percent high-octane gasoline was established. Pavlodar oil refinery processes West Siberian oil with 5.5 million tonnes per year and Kazakhstan’s oil is 4.7 million tonnes per year. The production of aviation fuel will be set at about 13,000 tonnes per month in the second half of 2018,” he added.
Up to 100 projects were included in regional business maps, but not all of them follow the industrialisation priorities and need to be under the control of the National Economy and Investment and Development ministries, said Sagintayev.
