Kazakhstani authorities fine Chinese company for ecological violations

China Xinxing Corporation, a Chinese company actively involved in several infrastructural projects in the East Kazakhstan region, has been fined $1.9 million after state inspectors identified multiple violations of the national environmental legislation.

The inspection was initiated by the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, whose inspectors found that the Chinese construction firm used an asphalt mixing plant and a crushing plant without necessary permissions.

Authorities accused the company of breaching ecological rules and imposed a fine based on Article 328, Part 1 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In March, the court supported this decision and ruled that China Xinxing Corporation should pay 1 billion tenge (about $1.9 million in fines). The company filed a complaint, but the appellate court upheld the first-instance decision.

China Xinxing Corporation LLP is a large Chinese construction company that has a representative office in Astana. The company is actively involved in large infrastructure projects such as the reconstruction of roads of national significance across Kazakhstan. For example, the company was responsible for the overhaul of a highway in the Zhambyl region. In 2023, the company’s subsidiary in Kazakhstan also reported a fine of 1 million tenge (about $1,943) for similar environmental violations.