Construction has officially begun on a new electronic device manufacturing plant in Semey, eastern Kazakhstan, according to the akimat (local administration) of the Abay region.
The $50 million project, led by the Kazakh-Chinese joint venture Suto Kazakhstan, will be carried out in three phases from 2025 to 2028. Products from the facility will be sold domestically and exported across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Europe.
The plant will manufacture a wide range of electronic components, including microchips, optoelectronic modules, smart host controllers, power supply units, energy-efficient lamps and digital displays.
«This marks the first time such production is being established in our country,» said Berik Uali, governor of the Abay region. «During the construction phase, 140 jobs will be created, and more than 500 permanent jobs will be available once the plant becomes operational.»
Uali added that local workers would be prioritized for jobs during construction. Once operational, plant workers’ salaries are expected to range from $500 to $1,000 per month. Through a new partnership with the Higher College of IT and New Technologies in Semey, Suto Kazakhstan will offer students internships that could lead to full-time employment.
«A modern facility for the production of microchips bearing the ‘Made in Kazakhstan’ label will rise just outside Semey,» said Yernur Bolatuly, founder of Suto Kazakhstan. «We’ve secured 20 hectares of land. Phase one includes building the main structure and workshops. If we finish within the 90-day timeline, we’ll launch production without delay.»
The project is part of a broader regional investment strategy. A delegation from the Abay region recently traveled to Altai in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region for the Greater Altai International Conference on Subregional Cooperation. At the event, 15 memorandums of understanding were signed between the region and Chinese investors, totaling $1.5 billion in commitments. The Semey chip plant is one of the projects stemming from that partnership.
According to Kazakhstan’s official EGov.kz portal, Suto Kazakhstan was founded by Mo Shengjun and Yernur Bolatuly.
