Following a meeting on March 12th with the Board of Directors of Kazakh Invest, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov announced that foreign investment had been secured for the launch of over 40 projects this year.
Kazakh Invest, a national company aimed to attract foreign investment in priority sectors of the economy, currently supports 200 projects. Worth $27.3 billion, the projects have created 68,800 jobs.
One of the most significant projects is the manufacture of medical equipment by the American company GE Healthcare in Astana. Products include ultrasound and CT machines for Kazakhstan’s hospitals as well as for export. The American company also plans to provide educational programs for staff in the Kazakh healthcare system.
Other forthcoming projects include the production of anticancer drugs by the Swiss company Roche in Almaty, and the manufacture of ceramic tiles, dry building mixes and construction adhesives by the Austrian company Lasselsberger in Astana. The latter’s new plant will create over 200 jobs and reduce the country’s dependence on imported products.
As instructed by the prime minister, Kazakh Invest is focused on attracting investment in projects with high added value; specifically, grain processing, the production of in-demand types of plastics, and the domestic production of oil and gas equipment.
Looking ahead, Bektenov stressed that to achieve the target set by the head of state to increase the economy to $450 billion by 2029, at least $150 billion of foreign investment must be attracted during the intervening period.
