ASTANA (TCA) — Nine investment documents for a total of $590 million were signed between Kazakhstan and the largest Turkish holdings, such as Calik Holding, Yildirim Holding, Yildizlar SSS Holding, and Agrobest Group, on September 9 in Astana, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
The documents provide for implementation of projects for the production of building materials, machine-building products, chemicals, in the mining and metallurgical sectors, and energy in various regions of Kazakhstan.
“Turkish companies really want to work in Kazakhstan. We worked with them during the past year. The leaders of large Turkish companies arrived today. The total aggregate volume of their influence on the Turkish economy is about 15% of GDP. Some of them already work in Kazakhstan. Some are looking at new projects. In particular, they are interested in the sphere of agriculture, energy, and privatization. Specific projects have already been outlined. We hope that they will make a good contribution to the economy of Kazakhstan. The task of Kazakh Invest is to help large foreign investors enter Kazakhstan, put production here, and set up a business,” Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest national company Maksat Kabashev said.
Over the past five years, Turkish investors have implemented 18 projects worth $667.5 million in Kazakhstan. In the near future, 10 new projects are planned to be implemented.
In the Ordabasy District of South Kazakhstan, a Kazakh-Turkish industrial zone was created. The total area of the territory is 50 hectares with the possibility of expanding to 250 hectares. In the current year, it is planned to put into operation a plant for the production of profiles and translucent structures made of PVC and aluminium. In addition, it is planned to start construction of plants by Merkez Asia Madencilik (lead concentrate) and Petronet Otomosyon (fuel dispensers) for a total of $12 million.
The total package of Kazakh-Turkish investment initiatives includes 70 projects for a total amount of $2.7 billion, of which 31 have been implemented, and about 40 projects are feasible and promising. The inflow of FDI to Kazakhstan from Turkey from 2005 to the 1st quarter of 2017 amounted to $2.1 billion. Bilateral trade turnover for the 6 months of 2017 amounted to $925.1 million, growth of 36.1% on-year. Exports from Kazakhstan to Turkey during the period increased by 53.8%, up to $563.3 million.
