Kazakhstan to build new oil refinery in Jezkazgan
According to the overall development plan for the region, which has been developed by the authorities of the Ulytau region and the Ministry of National Economy, over 2022-2026 the government is going to build a new oil refinery with a capacity of one million tons in the town of Jezkazgan. It is expected that the project will cost about $1 billion and will provide jobs for 300 people.
The plan has already been approved by the country’s cabinet.
The region’s governor Berik Abdygaliyev said that the overall plan includes the implementation of a set of projects.
«The implementation of the overall development plan for 2022-2026 is about $2.9 billion. This money includes $267 million from the state budget, $104.9 million from the regional budget and $2.5 billion of private investments,» he said.
Apart from the oil refinery with a capacity of one million tons of oil, 16 smaller industrial projects must be implemented in the region by 2026 under the development plan. Altogether, they cost about $1.6 billion. Once these projects are fully implemented, they will create 3,000 jobs for locals. For example, Kazakhmys is going to build a new sulfuric acid plant in Jezkazgan ($150 million in investments), Sary Tau Company will open a copper production plant in Satpayev ($57.8 million), Ulytau Gold Processing plans to construct a gold processing plant at the Ashiktas mine in the Zhanaarka district ($23.9 million).
The country’s government expects that these measures will increase industrial output in the Ulytau region from $1.6 billion to $2.3 billion.
Given that the region is rich in mineral resources, the authorities are going to allocate $42.8 million for geological exploration in the region. For instance, the overall development plan requires an increase in the production of quartz to 17.4 cubic meters per year. About $17.5 million will be allocated for 11 different tourist projects like hotels and new entertainment and shopping center in Jezkazgan.
The same number of projects for the same amount of money will be implemented in agriculture. Among these expected projects are a meat processing plant in Jezkazgan ($7.5 million), a poultry farm ($483.8 million) and a livestock complex by Uly Dala Company ($2.7 million). An additional $958.5 million will be allocated for 25 utility projects, including updating and maintenance of thermal power plant No.1 and construction of a new thermal power plant No.2 in Jezkazgan, and also heating network repair in Satpayev.
In September, Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said that the government wants to extend the existing oil refinery in Shymkent to 9 million tons of oil per year. Negotiations with partners have already begun, the authorities said.
