Kazakhstan puts its oldest shipyard in Uralsk on sale
The government of Kazakhstan has the intention to transfer the Zenith shipyard in Uralsk into a «competitive environment,» according to a cabinet resolution published at Adilet.kz.
Last year, the Ministry of Industry and Construction said it would sell 85% of Zenith shares to raise funds necessary for its modernization. Now, Zenith is on the list of state-owned entities that should be sold to private investors. The decision has recently been officially approved by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
«Hereby resolution is entering into force within a day after its official publication,» the Adilet website said.
In December 2023, the Uralskaya Nedelya newspaper reported that the government wanted to sell 85% of Zenith to raise money for its modernization, citing Deputy Minister of Industry and Construction Azamat Beispekov. At the time, only a Turkish construction company showed interest in acquiring the manufacturing site, although the government could sell it to any other investor who would make the most interesting offer, Beispekov explained back then.
About two months before that, Zenith signed an agreement with two subsidiaries of the Turkish Defense Ministry that were supposed to facilitate production of ships for Kazakhstan’s navy. No timeline for the arrangement was provided, though. The ministry told Kursiv.media that under those agreements Kazakhstan would build military ships in conjunction with Turkey on Kazakhstan’s territory.
Ural Plant Zenith was established in 1941 when Soviet authorities evacuated “Dvigatel,” the Leningrad plant No. 181. During World War II the plant produced special military equipment for the navy. In the present day, Zenith designs and produces ships, patrol boats, combat ships and boats for the border guard service and the navy of Kazakhstan. The company is also producing some equipment for oil companies and civil customers.
According to eGov, Zenith, JSC was registered in 1993 under the control of Kazakhstan Engineering. Since 2003, the company has been owned by the Committee of State Property and Privatization under the Ministry of Finance.
