Chinese state company CITIC Construction plans to invest more than 1 billion dollars in constructing a plant for deep grain processing in the Almaty region. The agreement was reached during the meeting of the Vice-Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ermek Kenzhekhanuly, with representatives from the Chinese delegation.
The parties discussed the development of Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial complex and details of the project to build a production line for deep wheat processing with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons. The enterprise will produce maltose, fructose, crystalline fructose, allulose, crystalline dextrose, sodium gluconate, gluten by-products, and feed.
The project will be realized in the Kazbek bi-industrial zone in the Almaty region. CITIC Construction’s total investment will be about $1.07 billion, and the total value of its products will be $1.87 billion. More than 2,000 jobs will be created.
In mid-July, the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan signed an agreement with Chinese companies CITIC Construction and Beijing Capital Agro to attract $600 million in investment to develop beef cattle breeding in the country. The funds will be used to establish feedlots, with the partnership expected to involve more than 600 farms and existing feedlots.
China is Kazakhstan’s leading trading partner. At the end of 2023, agricultural exports from Kazakhstan to China doubled and reached $1 billion. In 2023, the volume of bilateral trade turnover amounted to $41 billion, and Kazakhstan intends to double this figure. In addition, Beijing is one of the leading foreign investors in Kazakhstan, having invested about $25 billion in its economy over the past 15 years.
