Kazakhstan and France broaden industrial partnership

New projects initiated by the two countries are expected to create 200 jobs / Photo: Shutterstock, photo editor: Milosh Muratovskiy

France and Kazakhstan have been implementing 10 joint projects with a total value of $1.1 billion, creating 2,000 new jobs. Six of these projects, worth $900 million, are already complete, according to Yersaiyn Nagaspayev, Kazakhstan’s minister of industry and construction, who spoke at the Kazakhstan-France business forum in Astana.

Counting already implemented projects, the minister mentioned Alstom’s locomotive production facility in Astana ($392 million); Schneider Electric’s pressure sensor production in the Atyrau region ($6.3 million); Vicat’s cement plant in the Zhambyl region ($467 million); Air Liquide’s compressed air and nitrogen facility in the Atyrau region ($16 million); Saint-Gobain’s building materials production in the Zhambyl region ($15 million); and PCM’s progressing cavity pump manufacturing facility in the Mangystau region ($5 million).

Two additional projects valued at $79.3 million and expected to create 200 jobs are set to launch this year:

Processing of uranium from the Tortkuduk site No. 2 (the southern part) of the Moiynkum deposit in the Turkestan region. The project is implemented by the Kazakh-French joint venture Katko, owned by French company Orano, with an estimated value of $69.7 million;
A service center for electric locomotives manufactured by Electrovoz Kurastyru Zauyty — owned by Alstom — to be built in the Zhambyl region, valued at $9.6 million.

«We are fully open to cooperating with international investors as part of our ambitious plans to upgrade the energy, housing and utilities sectors. This is a large-scale initiative that will create room for the launch of local manufacturing in the sphere of machine building, metalworking and building materials production, among other areas,» Nagaspayev added.

Kazakhstan is also interested in partnering with the French companies SUEZ and Veolia — leaders in water management, waste treatment and urban infrastructure — to support projects in the housing and utilities sectors. Participation of these companies in the planned projects could provide a solid foundation for modernizing water supply and public utilities in Kazakhstan.

In 2024, mutual trade between the two countries reached €4.8 billion ($5.5 billion), up 31% from 2023.

Previously, Kursiv.media reported that Kazakhstan is pursuing critical mineral deal contracts with France.