On 16 October 2015 the Aktobe rail and structural steel plant was launched.
This unique company is built on the instructions of the head of state and has no analogues in the CIS. In December last year a nationwide teleconference entitled “new industrialisation of Kazakhstan: results of 2014 and the first five-year plan”, attended by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, was the backdrop for the launch of the first stage of rail and manufacturing technology.
Construction of the plant and the process of launching the production line took place in the shortest possible time, and on 16 October the company started to produce the finished product.
The ceremony to mark the start of the launch was attended by the President of JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) Askar Mamin; the head of the company Siemens S.p.A Giuseppe Ferrario: the Minister for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan Asset Issekeshev; the Akim of the Aktobe region Berdybek Saparbayev; the Minister of Transport and Communications of Kyrgyzstan Argynbek Malabaev; and the Chairman of CJSC Azerbaijani Railways Javid Gurbanov.
Among the participants were members of parliament, heads of railway administrations of the CIS and Baltic countries, and railway manufacturers.
As the president of JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) A. Mamin noted, “On behalf of the Head of State, a new branch of railway engineering has been created under Kazakhstan’s programme of industrialisation within a short period of time. In partnership with world leaders such as General Electric, Alstom, Talgo, Siemens, new plants have been built for the production of freight and passenger locomotives, electric locomotives, wagons, large car casting, and hardware infrastructure.”
A. Mamin also stressed that “the release of the first national rail production is a significant event in the history of Kazakhstan’s industrial development.”
The design capacity of the Aktobe rail plant (ARP), is 430,000 tonnes of steel products per year. First of all, the brand thermostrengthening rails R65 are 120 m long, designed for high-speed lines. Also produced here will be 230,000 tonnes of rolled steel – beams, angles, channels in order to meet the needs of Kazakhstan and its neighbouring countries in terms of rail and structural steel products.
On the same day ARP held a round table on the development of railway engineering in Kazakhstan and prospects of international cooperation.
During the discussion presentations were given by Kazakhstan factories – manufacturers of railway products such as Tulpar Talgo, Elektrovoz kurastyru zauyity (EKZ), Locomotive Plant (LP) and export support tools of JSC Development Bank of Kazakhstan.
According to the round table participants, constructive dialogue was held between producers of railway products in the Eurasian region and financial institutions.
In particular, the participants learned more about the support programme of Kazakhstan’s exports, implemented by DBK. As explained by the chairman of the board Zhamishev, “the Development Bank of Kazakhstan took part in the co-financing of the construction ARP, and is now ready to provide financial leverage to expand the plant’s production supplies to foreign consumers.”
According to the chairman of JSC Sberbank A. Kamalov, “Sberbank actively supports the infrastructure projects of JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) that stimulate trade and, accordingly, is of particular importance in terms of the further development of the national economy.” According to A. Kamalov, “the construction of the rail and structural steel plant is an excellent example of public-private partnerships – a mechanism to finance large-scale infrastructure projects.”
During the round table Memoranda of Cooperation were signed for the supply of finished products between ARP and the railway administrations of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
(Source: KTZ)
