Kazakhstan and France to implement 12 projects worth $4 billion

Kazakhstan and France will implement 12 projects totally worth $4 billion. Kazakh-French Business Council has opened in Astana today, February 15, Tengrinews.kz reports. “6 projects worth $375 million have been implemented in cooperation with France already. 12 projects worth $2.3 billion are currently being implemented. Besides, we are preparing several more projects,” Kazakhstan Vice-Minister of Industry and New Technologies Nurlan Sauranbayev said. Six operating joint projects are: - production of spare parts for French Airbus in Ust-Kamenogorsk, - construction of a dairy plant with Danone company, - construction of a cement plant in Zhambyl Oblast, - contract production of Sanofi Aventis' goods at Khimfarm's facilities and a finished circle of production of packaging for Essenciale injection at Khimfarm's facilities, - creation of a Kazakh-French center of technologies transfer, - a project of a welding institute. “12 projects are in an active phase right now. They include: - organization and production of new electric locomotives, - new transport system of Astana, - organization of production of fuel assemblies in Ust-Kamenogorsk, - production of photovoltaic elements and modules, - creation of spacecrafts assembly and testing complex in Astana, - creation of the Earth remote sensing system in Astana, and - joint development of Khvalynskoye field,” Deputy Minister said. Kazakhstan is interested in French investments, particularly, in innovative projects in power supply, electric power, oil and gas engineering, chemical industry, digital technologies. Sauranbayev said that Kazakh-French technologies transfer center created along with the center for engineering and technologies transfer played an important role in the cooperation. “This center currently implements a promising project on production of solar batteries from Kazakhstan silica at the territory of Kazakhstan,” he said. Deputy chairman of Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund Kuandyk Bishimbayev explained that Kazakhstan was interested in transfer of technologies and development of Kazakhstan content first of all. “We are talking about it right now. I think that French companies are working very actively and always find common ground with Kazakhstan’s national companies. The total cost of the projects is around $4 billion,” Bishimbayev said. French delegation is planning to meet with heads of interested Kazakhstan ministries and authorities. A meeting with Karim Massimov was scheduled after the meeting of Kazakh-French Business Council.