Kazakhstan - The Times Of Central Asia

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Waste Management

Kazakhstan Waste-to-Energy Plants to Undergo Major Expansion

Kazakhstan is preparing a major expansion of waste-to-energy plants backed by Chinese investors, potentially giving waste incineration a central role in a system that still sends most municipal refuse to landfill. Astana plans to complete negotiations with China Tianying Inc. and submit an investment agreement for approval within two weeks. The proposed agreement would cover waste-treatment plants in at least three major cities, although the government has not disclosed their locations, cost, or construction timetable. The plans could add at least three facilities to Chinese-backed waste-to-energy plants already under construction in Almaty, Astana, and Shymkent. Together, the existing projects are designed to process 4,500 metric tons of municipal waste per day and generate 134 megawatts of electricity. If operated year-round at their stated capacity, they would handle around 1.64 million tons annually — equivalent to roughly one-third of the municipal waste Kazakhstan currently produces. The expansion follows years of limited progress in Kazakhstan’s waste sector. The country generates between 4.2 million and 4.8 million tons of municipal solid waste annually, while much of the material recorded as sorted or recycled ultimately ends up in landfill. In 2024, only 49,200 tons were processed into secondary raw materials, equivalent to around 1.1% of all municipal waste generated. Kazakhstan also has around 3,000 landfill sites, only about 20% of which meet environmental standards, according to the Ministry of Ecology. More than 1,000 illegal dumps were identified in 2024. The government is attempting to make waste-to-energy projects attractive to investors through investment agreements and a state-set electricity tariff of up to KZT55 ($0.12) per kilowatt-hour. The tariff provides operators with a revenue stream from the electricity produced by burning municipal waste, helping compensate for the weak economics of the wider waste-processing sector. Kazakhstan announced the plans after Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov met Cao Debiao, party secretary and president of China Tianying on July 16, 2026. The two discussed both large plants and smaller facilities capable of processing between 250 and 500 tons of waste per day, which could serve regional cities without enough waste to support the major complexes planned for Kazakhstan’s largest urban centers. According to the government, China Tianying has worked in waste treatment and new energy for more than 20 years and operates in more than 30 countries. Cao said the company handles around 4,000 tons of municipal waste per day through its existing facilities and plans to increase this capacity to 7,000 tons. Three Chinese-backed projects worth a combined KZT293.3 billion, or approximately $622 million, are already under construction. In Almaty, Junxin Environmental Protection is building a KZT145.5 billion ($308 million) facility designed to process 2,000 tons of municipal waste per day and generate 60 megawatts of electricity. In Astana, EAST HOPE is developing a plant capable of processing at least 1,500 tons daily and producing 50 megawatts. The project is valued at KZT94.4 billion, approximately $200 million. Shaanxi Construction Engineering Kazakhstan is building a smaller plant in Shymkent with daily capacity of 1,000 tons and generating capacity of 24...

Wildfire

Open Flames Extinguished at Semey Ormany as Crews Tackle Hotspots

Open flames at a 60-hectare forest fire in Kazakhstan’s Semey Ormany reserve had been extinguished by early July 17, although hundreds of personnel remained at the site tackling isolated smouldering hotspots. The fire prompted the evacuation of 190 children and 20 adults from a nearby summer camp. Police officers carried some of the youngest children to waiting vehicles as staff tried to prevent panic and move everyone out quickly. The blaze was reported on the morning of July 16 in the Kamyshenka forestry area of the reserve’s Borodulikha branch. By that afternoon, it had spread across an estimated 60 hectares. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov sent both ministers responsible for the response to the Abai region to oversee the operation. As of 7 a.m. on July 17, the operation involved 769 personnel, 191 vehicles, and eight helicopters. Aircraft had completed 219 water drops, delivering 474 tons of water. Crews worked through the night to contain the fire and continued soaking smouldering areas after the open flames were extinguished. [caption id="attachment_52405" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Image: EcologyofQazaqstan[/caption] The Emergency Situations Ministry said the threat to Kamyshenka had been lifted. Ground teams and aircraft remained in place while the authorities worked toward full containment and continued monitoring the area. The fire broke out in the same reserve where 14 forestry workers died in June 2023. That blaze burned more than 60,000 hectares and caused damage estimated at 161.6 billion tenge. It also led to criminal cases and a major overhaul of the reserve’s equipment. In May 2024, a court sentenced the reserve’s acting director and the head of its Novoshulbinsk branch to seven years in prison for fire-safety violations that led to multiple deaths. The Abai regional appeals court upheld the convictions in August. Two other officials received two-year prison terms later that year, and the Prosecutor-General’s Office said in January 2025 that all criminal cases linked to the disaster had concluded. Kazakhstan has since invested in new wildfire equipment and monitoring. In June, the authorities unveiled a specialized firefighting vehicle developed after the 2023 disaster. By April, an AI early detection system using 37 cameras covered 510,000 hectares of Semey Ormany. Dangerous conditions persist across the region. Kazhydromet forecast temperatures of 35–37°C in the Abai region on July 18, with winds reaching 15–20 meters per second in the southwest. High fire danger was expected in the northwest and center of the region, with extreme fire danger in the south.

Artificial Intelligence

Tokayev Offers Astana to Host New Global AI Body’s First Meeting

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev put Astana forward at the opening of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 17, saying that Kazakhstan is ready to host the first meeting of a new global AI organization. He also proposed placing the organization’s Central Asian office in Kazakhstan. Together, the offers set out Tokayev’s wider aim: Kazakhstan wants a role in writing AI rules as well as building the technology at home. Twenty-nine countries signed the agreement establishing the World AI Cooperation Organization on July 16. The founding states included Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while Turkmenistan did not sign. China first proposed the Shanghai-based intergovernmental body at last year’s conference. Tokayev called the creation of the organization a historic decision and said it could underpin a universal framework for AI governance. “No country should remain merely a consumer of AI,” he said. “Every state must have the opportunity to develop its own human capital, digital infrastructure, and institutional capacity. Here too, the issue is fairness and integrity.” Tokayev also endorsed the conference’s guiding principle, “AI for good, AI for all,” arguing that technological progress should benefit people broadly rather than deepen inequalities within and between countries. His offer to host the new organization’s first meeting in Astana and to establish its Central Asian office in Kazakhstan were aimed at giving the country a role in shaping that agenda. [caption id="attachment_52389" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Image: Akorda[/caption] Astana Bids for a Role in the New AI Body Tokayev’s proposals went beyond hosting a ceremonial gathering. He called for a permanent expert platform on AI regulation, standards and ethics. He also proposed an international network of schools, centers of excellence and academic partnerships. The Kazakh president urged members to develop common standards for testing and certifying AI systems. He said safeguards should address malicious uses, including cyberthreats, deepfakes and digital fraud. AI should remain under human control, he said. Tokayev placed those proposals within his wider diplomatic agenda. He argued that AI could help spot crises earlier and improve humanitarian work and peacekeeping. He said governments spend too much effort dealing with conflicts after they begin and too little preventing them. The new organization adds another layer to Kazakhstan’s technology policy. Citing a person familiar with the U.S. position, Reuters reported that Kazakhstan is the only country listed in both the 29-member body and Washington’s AI Opportunity Statement. Kazakhstan had already joined the U.S.-backed Pax Silica framework on June 25, which covers chips, critical minerals, energy and secure AI supply chains. That overlap carries Kazakhstan’s long-standing multi-vector diplomacy into AI policy. Astana is deepening ties with China while expanding ties to U.S.-linked technology and supply chains. Tokayev’s speech showed that Kazakhstan also wants a voice in the institutions shaping global AI rules. A Digital Bridge With China In Shanghai, Tokayev also proposed a “Kazakhstan-China Digital Bridge.” He said the project should promote digital trade and provide a working model for connecting digital economies through the Belt and Road Initiative. He asked China to support...

Critical Minerals

Opinion: Could Vanadium Be Kazakhstan’s Next Breakout Critical Metals Story?

Vanadium is viewed as a critical mineral by the United States, the European Union, Russia, China and many other countries because of its importance to energy storage and industrial alloys. At the Astana Metals & Metallurgy (AMM) Congress, Ferro-Alloy Resources CEO Nicholas Bridgen discussed the company’s assets, strategy, and valuation with The Times of Central Asia, noting that the company appears undervalued amid supply chain disruptions and the rising strategic importance of vanadium. The discussion highlighted vanadium’s emerging demand-supply imbalance and efforts to better align market perception with fundamentals. Of the critical metals that will define the next half-century, vanadium has perhaps the strongest claim to indispensability: it hardens the steel in our infrastructure and defense systems, and it stores the energy that our grids will increasingly depend on. Yet the market has consistently failed to price that future in, and nowhere is that mispricing more visible than in the vanadium deposits of Kazakhstan. In 1941, with the Second World War raging, Soviet geologists fanned out across Central Asia looking for strategic minerals. Around 180 kilometers east of Almaty, in the foothills of the Tian Shan mountain range along the borders with China and Kyrgyzstan, they found tungsten at the Boguty deposit. At roughly the same time, they were delineating what would become the Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty tungsten deposits. The geology was well understood, and the resource was real, but nothing happened for the better part of 75 years. The deposits sat idle not because tungsten was unimportant, but because there was no pressing reason for, first, the Soviet Union or later the West to develop them. That changed when the scale of China's dominance in critical metals became impossible to ignore. By the early 2020s, China was producing over 75% of the world’s tungsten output, alongside similarly dominant shares of rare earth elements and a range of other strategic minerals. This concentration of supply was not accidental. It was the product of decades of deliberate industrial policy, patient capital, and a willingness to operate at low margins long enough to drive out competitors. The Tungsten Lesson Chinese mining company Jiaxin International Resources Investment Ltd. moved in 2014 to acquire Boguty for an undisclosed sum, almost certainly a modest one. The deal further consolidated China’s grip on global tungsten supply. Jiaxin then spent approximately $300 million developing the deposit and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at a valuation in excess of $600 million. The investment thesis seemed straightforward enough at the time. In 2025, it looked positively prescient: China imposed export controls on tungsten, and key prices outside China more than doubled. According to the Financial Times, Jiaxin’s market capitalization stands at close to HKD 22.3 billion, equal to $2.84 billion, approximately 9.5 times the stated development expenditure. [caption id="attachment_52262" align="aligncenter" width="1432"] Image: Kaz Resources[/caption] Meanwhile, Skyline Builders Group Holding Ltd. and Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC (“Cove Kaz”) have moved to acquire the two other formerly dormant tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan, Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty. On this...

Games of the Future

From Controllers to Courts: Kazakhstan Prepares for Games of the Future

When the basketball begins in Astana on July 29, two players from each team will sit at screens and chase 19 digital points. After that stage, they will take the score onto a real 2-on-2 court. The physical game continues until one side reaches 39, meaning a lead earned with a controller can disappear beneath the rim. That switch gives the Games of the Future its human appeal. The format asks athletes to handle screen timing, then contact and fatigue on the court. It also creates an unfamiliar training problem. A gifted basketball player can fall behind before reaching the court, while a strong gamer still has to run, defend, and rebound. Before June’s Astana qualifier, Uzbek under-23 basketball player Tolegen Ismatov explained what first drew him to the faster 3x3 game. “I was immediately drawn to the speed, the emotions, and the responsibility for every moment on the court,” he said. The main Games will run from July 29 to August 9. More than 800 competitors from over 50 nationalities are due to contest eight disciplines for a prize pool which stands above $4 million. The events will use four Astana venues, including the Barys Arena and the Qazaqstan Athletics Sports Complex. For local spectators, the event is priced more like a day out than a global championship. Standard tickets start at 4,000 tenge (about $8.50), while phygital fighting starts at 7,500 tenge. Admission to the dance competition at the 12,000-seat Barys Arena is free. The Score Carries Onto the Court Basketball opens the program on July 29. Four players make up each team, with two competing at a time. The digital stage ends when one side reaches 19 points. Play then moves to the court, where the first team to reach a combined score of 39 wins. A tie leads to a free-throw shootout. Football follows the same basic logic. Teams play two short halves in the UFL video game, then move to a five-a-side pitch. In the shooter event, clubs begin with Counter-Strike 2, then move into laser tag, where players must communicate while running through a physical space. The field mixes famous club badges with esports names. Boca Juniors and Valencia Basket are in the basketball draw. Peñarol and Los Troncos FC will meet in football. Dota 2 and PUBG each carry a $1 million prize pool, the largest shares of the total. Kazakh teams also appear throughout the draw, giving home crowds someone to follow in several arenas. GTB KZ opens its basketball campaign against qualifier champion Zagrebacki malisani NITUI. Team KZ begins the shooter competition against Mirage Team. Astana’s PBC Astana is also in the basketball field, while ACF x Allur represents the host country in football. Uzbekistan has a visible place in the regional cast. Dancer Sogdiana Abdukhalikova opens against Lala Gevorgyan on August 6. Her performance will be measured by automated scoring for timing and movement accuracy, rather than a panel holding up cards. A Smaller Event Than First Promised The Astana...

Central Asia + Japan

Patient Capital, Fast Deals: Japan and South Korea Take Different Paths into Central Asia

Japan and South Korea have reached the same strategic conclusion: Central Asia matters to their economic security. Yet they are pursuing that goal through markedly different playbooks. In December 2025, Tokyo hosted the first leaders' summit of the "Central Asia plus Japan" Dialogue, 21 years after the format was launched. All five Central Asian presidents attended. Japan set a target of three trillion yen in business projects across the region over five years - roughly $19 billion at the time - while placing critical-mineral supply chains among the summit's priority areas. The bilateral announcements were equally significant. Uzbekistan presented a proposed project portfolio worth more than $12 billion and called for a joint investment platform to advance it. Kazakhstan and Japan announced a package of public- and private-sector agreements worth $3.7 billion. These included a long-term uranium contract and an offtake agreement under which Kazakhstan's Eurasian Resources Group would supply gallium to Mitsubishi Corporation RTM Japan. The timing was no accident. By May 2026, Chinese shipments to Japan of dysprosium and terbium remained close to zero, while exports of finished rare earth magnets to Japan fell 35% from the previous month. These materials are essential to high-performance magnets. For Tokyo, diversifying critical mineral supply is no longer a distant policy objective; it is an immediate industrial requirement. South Korea has been moving toward the same destination by a different route. During then-President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to Kazakhstan in 2024, the two countries signed a critical minerals memorandum allowing Korean companies to participate in the exploration and development of lithium, chromium, uranium, and rare earths. Seoul is now preparing to host the first Korea-Central Asia summit on September 16-17, 2026, elevating years of bilateral and multilateral engagement to the leaders' level. [caption id="attachment_52351" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Image: Japan Cabinet Public Affairs Office[/caption] Why Central Asia Counts Both Japan and South Korea are resource-poor manufacturing powers whose leading industries depend on secure supplies of imported minerals. South Korea imports more than 95% of the critical minerals it consumes. Japan received its own warning in 2010, when Chinese rare earth shipments were disrupted during a territorial dispute, and the pressure has returned in a sharper form in 2026. Central Asia cannot replace China in the short term, but it offers Tokyo and Seoul a credible route toward diversification. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan combine substantial mineral potential with governments eager to attract investment, technology, and new export markets. Kazakhstan is already a major producer of uranium and chromium, and has significant copper, titanium, and rare earth prospects. In April 2025, Kazakhstan announced the possible discovery of a rare earth deposit containing more than 20 million metric tons of resources. If further exploration confirms that estimate, the country could possess one of the world's largest rare earth resource bases. However, the distinction between a resource estimate and a usable supply chain is crucial. A discovery is not a producing mine, and a mine is not a processing industry. Exploration, environmental approvals, infrastructure, separation, refining, and...