Kazakhstan Launches Green Investment Fund at International Forum

Almaty hosted the first Qazaq Invest Forum, an international event focused on green economy, smart agriculture, transport, and sustainable infrastructure, Orda.kz reports.

The main outcome was the creation of the Kazakh-Asia Investment Fund, with capital of 5.25 trillion tenge (around $10 billion). The first $1 billion is set to be used within the year.

The fund will finance major environmental, energy, and infrastructure projects across Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

One of the first initiatives is a new highway in Almaty, aimed at easing traffic congestion. Other plans include a high-speed highway from Khorgos to Aqtau and a heavy-duty electrified railway connecting Kazakhstan to Baku via the Caspian Sea.

Several investment agreements were also signed, totaling approximately 224.7 billion tenge. 

These include:

• A paper recycling plant by SUNNY PAPER (12.6 billion tenge)
  
• A tetrapak waste facility (12.4 billion tenge)
  
• A solar panel plant with a Singaporean partner (34.5 billion tenge)
  
• A brake system factory for electric vehicles by Zichen Group (41.8 billion tenge), with 95% of production intended for export to Europe and the U.S.

Officials emphasized Kazakhstan’s growing role in green investment. Deputy Akim of Almaty, Olzhas Smagulov, noted the city contributes over 20% of the country’s GDP and attracted $8 billion in foreign investment last year.

Nearly 70% of Chinese companies in Kazakhstan are registered in Almaty.

The forum was organized by Green Kaz Invest Group and Everest Capital.

Original Author: Maria Kravtsova