Kazakhstan's manufacturing industry sees growth in production
Kazakhstan’s manufacturing industry recorded a production volume of 14.9 trillion tenge (US$30.3 billion) in the first eight months, which is 4.9% more compared to the same period last year, First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar said at an Oct. 8 press conference.
According to the Prime Minister’s press service, the manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP has reached 12.5%, driven primarily by metallurgy, mechanical engineering, the chemical industry, and pharmaceuticals. The growth in metallurgy has been supported by a national investor's modernization efforts at the Qarmet enterprise, leading to stabilized production and a 13.5% increase in employee salaries.
Sklyar mentioned the initiation of 180 projects worth 1.3 trillion tenge (approximately US$2.6 billion) set for this year. The government is closely monitoring 17 groundbreaking projects across metallurgy, oil refining, petrochemicals, mechanical engineering, and chemicals.
Additionally, the government has been tasked with reducing the depreciation level of heat supply networks to 40% by 2030, which has improved from 61% to 52% due to recent efforts.
Sklyar emphasized the importance of the Tariff in Exchange for Investments program, noting that record funding of 327 billion tenge (about US$665.3 million) has been allocated for repairs of heat power sources this year. He also highlighted that a historic 52 billion tenge (approximately US$105.8 million) has been earmarked for firefighting equipment in areas susceptible to fires.
Plans are underway to introduce around 6.7 gigawatts of energy generation capacity by 2028, with 700 megawatts scheduled for 2024.
“We have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. The gradual decommissioning of old coal-fired capacities is inevitable. In this regard, the construction of our own nuclear power plant is the only acceptable option,” he said, recalling the recent referendum. “I would like to note that 415 nuclear reactors are already in operation worldwide. Another 62 are under construction. A threefold increase in the use of nuclear energy is predicted by 2050. Therefore, the decision to build a nuclear power plant is dictated not only by necessity but also by global trends in the use of peaceful atoms.”
