BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26. The authorities of Kazakhstan’s Ulytau region are conducting negotiations for the construction of an oil refinery, Governor of the region Berik Abdygaliuly said, Trend reports.
This would be the fourth refinery in Kazakhstan after Atyrau, Pavlodar, and Shymkent ones.
According to the governor, the negotiations for the construction of the refinery are being held with the Chinese CITIC Construction Co. Ltd.
"Unfortunately, the Ministry of Energy has informed us that we do not have sufficient oil for processing. Currently, negotiations are taking place between the investor and the Ministry of Energy," he said during a press conference at the Central Communications Service.
He noted that the region's economy heavily relies on the revenue from the Kazakhmys corporation, which accounts for over 70 percent of the regional budget. Therefore, efforts are being made to diversify the economy. Currently, an investment pool consisting of 14 projects with a total value of 140 billion tenge has been created. The implementation of these projects is planned until 2026.
Abdygaliuly also mentioned that, in 2022, a development plan for the region until 2026 was adopted. Within this plan, investments totaling 1.4 trillion tenge ($3.1 billion) are expected to be attracted from various sources. As of today, more than 85 billion tenge ($188.9 million) has been invested within the comprehensive plan, with 6 projects worth 5 billion tenge ($11.1 million) being launched and 430 new jobs created.