On July 22, National Company Kazakh Invest announced its signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Vietnamese-Japanese joint venture LLP Mareven Food Tian Shan for the construction of a beverage production and bottling plant in the Almaty region.

The plant, to be built in stages from 2025-26, will have four production lines with a 70,000 bottles per hour capacity, and an in-house warehouse with space for 15,000 pallets.

A major investor in Almaty region’s food production sector, Mareven Food Tian Shan has so far invested over 35 billion tenge in the country’s economy, creating 690 jobs, 95% of which have been taken by locals.

Emphasizing the importance of the initiative for Kazakhstan’s economy, Yerzhan Yelekeyev, Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest, stated: “The investment project for beverage production and bottling in the Almaty region not only contributes to the development of local industry but also creates new jobs, positively impacting the socio-economic development of the region.”

Nguyen Dinh Hien, Deputy General Director of Mareven Food Tian Shan, in turn, expressed his gratitude for Kazakh Invest’s support and announcing the start of the third phase of the project, reiterated that the in addition to supplying the local market, the plant’s products will be exported to other Central Asian countries, Russia, Mongolia, and Afghanistan.

As reported by Uzbekistan 24, the Uzbekistan Defense Industry Agency has developed a new armored military vehicle, “Arslon,” which is built to NATO standards.

The vehicle, which weighs over 30 tons, can accommodate eight paratroopers and a crew of three. Its front is designed to protect against 30 mm armor-piercing shells. The side armor is capable of repelling 4.5-mm-caliber bullets.

“In creating this armored personnel carrier, the parameters provided by NATO standards were considered. This is a national product created in Uzbekistan in cooperation with enterprises that produce high-quality components,” said Akmal Karimov, a company representative.

• Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has announced that since the beginning of this year’s irrigation season on April 1, Uzbekistan has sent 3.9 billion cubic meters of water to Kazakhstan via the Syrdarya River.

Earlier, the ministry came to an agreement with Uzbekistan that 3.7 billion cubic meters of water would be sent to Kazakhstan via the Syrdarya River over six months.

It is expected that before the end of the irrigation season, Uzbekistan will send Kazakhstan an additional one billion cubic meters of water. This water is intended for farmers in the southern regions of Kazakhstan.

Water from Uzbekistan is accumulated in the Shardara reservoir, which currently contains 2.6 billion cubic meters, 689 million cubic meters more than a year ago.

A total of 3.6 billion cubic meters of water has been sent from the Shardara reservoir to the lower reaches of the Syrdarya River, 950 million cubic meters more than last year. More than 700 million cubic meters of that water was sent to the Kyzylkum canal and more than 400 million cubic meters to the North Aral Sea.