Kazakhstan and China to Build Ground Satellite Station in Almaty

Kazakhstan and China have agreed to jointly construct a ground satellite station in Almaty, a $3 million initiative, aimed at enhancing scientific cooperation and strengthening regional satellite data infrastructure. The station will be located on the campus of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and developed in partnership with China’s Hainan Satellite Data and Application Research Center and Northwestern Polytechnical University. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the station will operate in the X-band frequency, enabling it to receive and transmit data from both Kazakh satellites and foreign spacecraft. The project was formalized during a recent visit by a delegation from China’s Hainan Province, where officials signed a protocol confirming the station’s placement at the Kazakh branch of Northwestern Polytechnical University. “This initiative builds on last year’s cooperation agreement between Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University to conduct joint research using a microsatellite,” said Margulan Ibraimov, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at the university. “That agreement directly followed the joint statement made by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President Xi Jinping during the latter’s state visit to Kazakhstan. Our researchers are currently working together on the NKSAT project, a next-generation microsatellite that will be the first of its kind in the region,” Ibraimov added. The satellite ground station is expected to play a key role in the collection, sharing, and practical application of satellite data across Kazakhstan and neighboring regions of China. It also reflects a broader expansion of Kazakh-Chinese collaboration in advanced technology sectors, including aerospace, digital infrastructure, and academic research. This initiative aligns with Kazakhstan’s long-term strategy to build domestic capabilities in space science and data-driven technologies, and to position the country as a regional hub for satellite-based services and innovation.

Kazakhstan and China Launch Chip Manufacturing Project in Semey

Construction has commenced on a high-tech chip and electronics manufacturing plant in the Ondiris industrial zone of Semey, the administrative center of Kazakhstan’s Abai region. The project is being developed by the joint Kazakh-Chinese venture, Suto Kazakhstan. The initiative was formally presented at the Big Altai international subregional conference held in Altai, located in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. During the forum, 15 memoranda of cooperation were signed between the Abai region and Chinese investors, amounting to a total of $1.5 billion. $50 Million Investment in High-Tech Infrastructure The Semey plant, with an investment of $50 million, will be developed in three stages from 2025 to 2028. Once completed, the facility will manufacture microchips, microcircuits, optoelectronic modules, intelligent host controllers, and electronic displays. The products will be supplied to both domestic and international markets. “A modern microchip manufacturing plant labeled ‘Made in Kazakhstan’ will appear in Semey. We have been allocated a 20-hectare site. In the first stage, we will build the main building and production facilities. If we manage to complete construction within 90 days, we will immediately launch the first line,” said Suto Kazakhstan founder Ernur Bolatuly. “Our main goal is to establish the production of chips that have never before been manufactured in Kazakhstan only assembled.” Broader Context of Technological Expansion The project is part of a broader effort by Kazakhstan to position itself as a technological hub in Central Asia. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in May 2025, the country received the region’s most powerful supercomputer, further demonstrating its ambitions in high-performance computing and digital infrastructure.