American Wabtec to invest $1 billion in Kazakhstan
American Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation or Wabtec, one of the world leaders in the field of transport and logistics and Fortune 500 participant, is going to invest roughly $1 billion in Kazakhstan’s transport and logistics industry, the press service of President Tokayev reported.
«Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed the company’s plan to invest about $1 billion in the transport and logistics industry in Kazakhstan, noting that the move would contribute to the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and would become the basis for other infrastructure projects,» the president’s press service reported after he met with Rafael Santana, president and CEO of Wabtec in New York.
Wabtec has been operating in Kazakhstan since 2019 when it acquired GE Transportation, which had already worked in the country. Wabtec is now going to take part in the reconstruction of the country’s railway industry.
As Rafael Santana said, the company is ready to invest in the construction of railroad engines based on parts produced by Wabtec and hydrogen technologies, the establishment of an engineering center and the transfer of technologies. During President Tokayev’s visit to New York, Kazakhstan Railways and Wabtec signed a framework agreement on cooperation.
In addition, Tokayev met with Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup Jane Fraser. Citibank Kazakhstan, which is the sole American bank in the country, has been a reliable partner for many international investors, the public sector and large businesses for a long time.
The head of state welcomed Citigroup’s decision to support several important projects to develop Kazakhstan’s transport and logistics potential. In his address to the nation in September, Tokayev instructed the cabinet to attract an additional three reliable foreign banks to the country to make this sphere more competitive. By now, Citibank is playing a crucial role in connecting the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) with global investors and promoting the digital transformation of the financial sector.
During that meeting, Kazakhstan Railways and Citibank also signed an agreement on basic financing conditions for purchasing Wabtec locomotives.
According to Renat Bekturov from AIFC, Citibank will facilitate a deal between Kazakhstan Railways and the American Exim Bank, which is going to provide the railways company with a $900 million credit line to purchase 240 new locomotives from Wabtec. This means that the lion’s share of the one-billion-dollar investment will be spent on purchasing U.S. railroad engines, with each American locomotive costing Kazakhstan $3.75 million. The deal will allow the Kazakhstani company to renew 15% of its locomotive fleet.
As Bekturov noted, the agreement needs approval from the U.S. Congress. Once the deal is done, it will help Kazakhstan to fulfill its transit potential better.
