In the city of Nanjing, People’s Republic of China, the akim of Turkestan Region, N. Kusherov held a meeting with the heads of leading industrial and textile companies in China. During the talks, the progress of major investment projects in the region and the launch of new initiatives were discussed.

Today, a cotton-textile cluster project worth a total of 146.6 billion tenge is being implemented in the Turkestan Region. The project covers production sites within the “TURAN” special economic zone in Turkestan city, as well as in Arys city and Otyrar district.

Within the cluster, a full production cycle is being formed-from cotton cultivation to the production of finished garment products. It includes cotton processing plants, drip irrigation system manufacturing facilities, a PVC pipe plant, a spinning mill, weaving and dyeing-finishing production facilities, as well as garment factories. Once fully operational, the project will create 4,150 new jobs and significantly increase the region’s export potential.

During the meeting, the progress of six production projects worth a total of 46.5 billion tenge, scheduled for launch this year, was reviewed. In particular:

• a garment factory producing 4 million units of home textile products per year;
• weaving and dyeing-finishing factories with an output of 47 million meters of fabric per year;
• two cotton processing plants;
• a cottonseed processing enterprise.

In addition, the parties reached an agreement on the construction of an integrated chemical complex for the production of ammonia and urea in the Turkestan Region.

The 70 billion tenge project will be located in the “Orangai” special economic zone in Sauran district. The enterprise will produce 300,000 tons of ammonia and urea per year and create 150 new jobs.

As one of the country’s largest agricultural regions, the Turkestan Region has a stable demand for high-quality mineral fertilizers; therefore, the new chemical complex is considered a strategically important project for the development of the region’s agro-industrial sector.

The meeting also discussed prospects for locating textile production and dyeing-finishing facilities of one of China’s leading textile companies, Huafang, in the Turkestan Region.

Overall, the projects being implemented within the framework of Kazakhstan-China cooperation strengthen the region’s industrial potential, promote the introduction of new technologies, increase export volumes, and create thousands of new jobs.