China's CITIC Construction plans to build $1 bln grain processing plant in Kazakhstan

ASTANA. June 26 (Interfax) - China's CITIC Construction plans to build a $1 billion advanced grain processing plant in Kazakhstan, National Company Kazakh Invest said in a press release.

The processing capacity of the new plant, to be built in the Almaty region, would be up to 1 million tonnes of wheat a year.

The proposal was discussed at a meeting between Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and the leadership of CITIC Construction during a visit by a delegation from Kazakhstan to China.

The plant will be built in several stages and will produce fructose syrup, crystalline fructose, allulose, crystalline dextrose, sodium gluconate, gluten and feed.

The project would create about 2,000 jobs.

Kazakh Invest chief Yerzhan Yelekeyev said advanced grain processing was a strategic priority for the national economy. "Our country is one of the world's biggest wheat producers and is ready to make its own contribution to ensuring food security in the region, since the area of land for cultivation and pastureland is more than 200 million hectares," Yelekeyev said.

Another Chinese company, Fuxin Casting Pipe Co. Ltd. from the Shanxi Province, expressed an intention to launch in Kazakhstan the production of reinforcement steel and semi-finished steel with design capacity of 1 million tonnes a year. Investment in the project is estimated at $160 million, the press release says.

In May 2023, CITIC Construction signed five commercial documents with Kazakh partners concerning their joint implementation of projects in the energy and petrochemical industries for over $1.6 billion.

CITIC Construction is a construction and engineering subsidiary of CITIC Group, a Chinese state-owned conglomerate, which is among the 100 largest construction companies in the world.