Ural Ship-building Facility Could Have Been Transferred to Turkish Company

The Ural ship-building facility "Zenit," long considered a strategic enterprise, has been included in the privatization program.

The investor's name has not been disclosed, but information has emerged that control over the plant may have been passed on to the Turkish company YDA Group, Orda.kz reports, citing "Moi Gorod."

The Zenit plant is a key enterprise in Kazakhstan's defense industry. It has produced boats and ships for the Navy and Border Service. 

Its history began in 1921 in Leningrad, and in 1941, the plant was evacuated to Oral.

It operated in the interests of the military industry, and its designation as a high-security facility confirmed its importance for national security.

Former plant director Vyacheslav Valiev, who headed the enterprise for over 30 years, said the plant's status was lifted in 2023.

According to him, the Turkish company YDA actively sought to purchase the plant by signing a protocol agreement on cooperation.

YDA Group is a prominent Turkish corporation operating in 11 industries: shipbuilding, defense, construction, energy, and healthcare. The company began its international expansion in the 2000s, and Kazakhstan became one of its key areas of interest.

Valiyev disagreed with the plant's new management's actions, calling the sale to foreigners a sign of the state's inability to develop its shipbuilding industry. He believes the plant could have been modernized without transferring the strategic facility to foreign investors.

During Zenit's operation, 34 ships have been transferred to law enforcement agencies. 

Valiyev noted that selling the enterprise risks changing its profile or closing despite the authorities' assurances about maintaining its activities.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Construction confirmed that JSC Ural Plant Zenit is included in the privatization plan.

They assured that the potential investor must maintain the plant's profile and staff and modernize it. However, the information that the investor is the YDA Group has not been officially confirmed.

The enterprise currently employs 756 people.

Reports have also surfaced that YDA will build a center at Aqtau airport to service civil and military aircraft from Russia and Central Asian countries. 

Incidentally, the airport is managed by another Turkish company, ATM Grup.

Original Author: Artem Volkov