The Astana Times – The Kazakh government plans to develop the import substitution program with a mission to reduce imports, increase export advantages and competitiveness of domestic production, reported the Prime Minister’s Office on March 19.
The state bodies have presented a preliminary plan that includes 444 domestic import substitution projects worth 13.3 trillion tenge (US$26 billion). The projects have the potential to provide 88,000 jobs.
This year, it is expected to launch 90 projects worth 1.4 trillion tenge (US$) and to create 10,800 job positions in the regions.
Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov instructed his staff to develop and approve the import substitution program in the regions within a month.
“The program is important in connection with the current geopolitical situation in the world. Therefore, it is necessary to intensify work in this direction and attract investments for the implementation of import-substituting projects”, said Smailov.
Overall, Kazakhstan imported manufacturing products worth $38.3 billion in the last year.
In his recent state-to-the-nation address Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev prioritized a comprehensive analysis of the domestic manufacturing industry to identify its potential, and competitive advantages.
