The Astana Times – In the past five years, the share of the machine-building industry in Kazakhstan’s economy grew 1.5 times, with the production output tripling to over three trillion tenge ($ 6.7 billion), Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said at an Aug. 1 government meeting, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
According to Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Marat Karabayev, mechanical engineering is one of the most dynamically developing branches of the manufacturing industry, considering a 17.6% increase over the reported period.
Karabayev said that mechanical engineering accounts for 1.5% of the country’s economy and 13% of the manufacturing industry, with 3,800 operating facilities and 118,000 employees.
“Last year, the industry attracted a record-high foreign direct investment (FDI) volume of around $500 million. In the first three months of 2023, FDI reached $208 million,” the minister informed.
Aiming to bolster the sector, Karabayev revealed plans to put 151 projects worth 1.7 trillion tenge ($3.8 billion) in place and create more than 24,000 new jobs until 2028. Of these, 29 projects worth 217 billion tenge ($485.7 million) with the creation of 3,500 jobs are expected to be launched this year.
As stated by the minister, the development of railway engineering will be aimed at solving the problems of saturating the market with freight, passenger cars, and locomotives, involving foreign investors, such as Switzerland’s Stadler, the United States’ (US) Wabtec and France’s Alstom.
“This year, 5,000 tractors and 900 combines will be produced in the agricultural engineering sector,” he said.
Touching on the automotive industry, Karabayev reported that last year, 150,000 cars were sold on the Kazakh market, 103,000 of which were produced by domestic companies.
The minister mentioned the production of household appliances as another important sector of mechanical engineering, where Kazakhstan’s market potential is estimated at $1.2 billion.
Prime Minister Smailov emphasized an excellent development potential in the oil and gas engineering industry, pointing out that a tenfold difference between the production volume, which stands at $160 million, and the imports volume of $1.6 million should be shortened.
According to Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev, the International Center for the Development of Oil and Gas Engineering was established to increase the share of Kazakh content in goods at large oil and gas projects. The center identified seven commodity groups of demanded products worth about $400 million, which domestic manufacturers can supply in the future.
The Prime Minister recalled that for the further progress of the machine-building industry, a five-year comprehensive plan is being developed following President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s instructions.
“Its implementation will increase production in mechanical engineering by more than twofold and investments in fixed assets by 1.5 times, almost triple the volume of exports, and double labor productivity,” Smailov concluded.
