Kazakhstan is speeding up its efforts to get rid of its dependence on imported cement and build a modern cement plant in the western hinterland. Gabidura Ospankulov, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, recently met with representatives of QazCement Industries and Sinoma Cement (China Building Materials Group) in the capital. The three parties jointly confirmed that the annual output of 1.3 million tons of cement project in Baiganning District of Aktobe State has entered the implementation stage in an all-round way. It will be expanded to 2.5 million tons in the future, with a total investment of about 200 million US dollars. The significance of
this factory lies first in "filling the gap". For a long time, most of the cement needed for construction in western Kazakhstan has to be transferred from Russia and Iran over long distances, with high transportation costs and large price fluctuations. After the new plant is put into operation, it will directly bring the regional self-sufficiency rate above the safety line, and provide stable and high-quality local supply for local infrastructure, housing, highways, and oil and gas field supporting projects, which is equivalent to giving a "cardiotonic agent" to the economic development of the western region. The employment and industrial chain effects brought by the
project are equally striking. The construction site needs 900 workers at the peak of construction, and 250 fixed jobs after putting into operation, which seems to be a small number, but it is enough for a small animal husbandry town like Baijianing District to have a modern industrial community for the first time; At the same time, the government requires enterprises to give priority to purchasing local chalk, clay, marl and other raw materials, leaving the "resource dividend" in the county-level finance, transportation, maintenance, catering and other supporting industries will also be activated synchronously.
In order to reassure investors and enable local people to learn real skills, the Kazakh government has given a "national endorsement" in the form of an investment agreement: on the one hand, it promises that supporting infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water sources will be in place on time, on the other hand, it has written "continuous training of Kazakh professional technicians" into the contract to ensure that the project is not only a "cement production line". It is also a "technical school". Sinoma has agreed to set up a training center simultaneously during the construction period, learning from Chinese engineers from cement technology, equipment maintenance to automation control, with the goal of localizing 80% of posts within three years.
According to the latest timetable, the main project will be fully started next spring and is scheduled to be put into operation by the end of 2026. If the expansion goes smoothly, by 2028, the cement plant standing on the Kazakh grassland will not only cover the entire western market, but also be expected to export to the Caspian Sea coastal countries, becoming another landmark project of "the Belt and Road" capacity cooperation.
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