KTZ Takes Out $447 Million Loan for First Batch of Wabtec Locomotives

Kazakhstan Temir Joly’s freight subsidiary is taking on nearly half a billion dollars in new debt to secure the first batch of Wabtec diesel locomotives, Orda.kz reports.

KTZ–Freight Transportation will borrow $447.86 million to acquire 93 TE33A diesel-electric locomotives. The information was disclosed by Kaztemirtrans, which is providing the guarantee for the deal.

Economist Arman Batayev was the first to highlight the filing.

The lenders on the transaction are Deutsche Bank Luxembourg and Banco Santander, and the deal is backed by EXIM Bank USA.

The guarantee covers the principal debt up to $447,860,770 in Swiss franc equivalent. The SARON interest rate is O/N +0.48% per annum. The guarantee term is up to ten years or until the obligations are fully repaid. No separate collateral is provided for the transaction,
 the notice states.

Notably, the deal value exceeds half of Kaztemirtrans’ book assets.

The TE33A model was originally supplied from the United States before shifting to local assembly at Astana’s LKZ plant.

In September 2025, Wabtec signed a contract with KTZ to supply 300 locomotives worth $4.2 billion. Production will be localized at LKZ, which Wabtec owns. The agreement covers long-term servicing of both the new units and KTZ’s existing fleet. 

These locomotives are built for heavy freight loads and tailored for Kazakhstan’s operating conditions.

Earlier, we reported that KTZ continues to struggle with a high debt load — 3.9 trillion tenge as of the end of 2024. Auditors noted that the company’s total assets fall short of its total liabilities. Freight revenues rose to 948 billion tenge, but the company still had to issue bonds three times last year — all purchased by the government on preferential terms.

The government is also preparing KTZ for an IPO, now delayed to the second half of 2026.

Citigroup, JPMorgan, and Société Générale estimate the railway’s valuation at above $10 billion. Analysts say investor appetite will depend on state backing and the company’s ability to reduce its debt burden.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov