ASTANA, Kazakhstan, December 15. Kazakhstan plans to create a domestic shipbuilding plant based on existing production facilities for the development of the merchant fleet, said Transport Minister Marat Karabayev during a government meeting, Trend reports.
Turkish companies YDA and Asfat, and Emirati Abu Dhabi Ports (ADP) are showing potential interest in implementing the Shipyard project.
As the minister noted, the plant's workload will be ensured by the need for commercial and government vessels. Also, more than 150 ships require various types of repairs, which can be carried out at the Kazakh shipyard.
At the first stage, there is a need for the construction of 10 new ships. New ship models are already being designed by Kazmortransflot (Kazakhstan's National Sea Carrier).
On December 2, KazMunayGas JSC (KMG, Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company) and Emirati AD Ports Group (ADP) have signed an Agreement on principles for the creation of a ship repairing and shipbuilding enterprise in Kazakhstan. The agreement defines the basic terms of cooperation.
The parties will form a joint working group to investigate the possibility of establishing a ship repair and shipbuilding operation on Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea coast.
As previously mentioned by Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Ports Group, Abu Dhabi Ports Group is interested in collaborating on the development of the Caspian Sea ports of Aktau and Kuryk.
Furthermore, Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Chairman of the Management Board of KazMunayGas, previously stated that ADP and KMG intend to collaborate on the joint construction of tankers for oil transportation in open seas and the Caspian Sea in the near future.