Alikhan Smailov visits school bus production in Almaty

During his working trip to Almaty, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov familiarized himself with the activities and construction of production facilities, and held a meeting with residents of small industrial parks and the city industrial zone.

Thus, the Head of Government visited the Hyundai Trans Almaty manufacturing plant. The enterprise was launched under a memorandum of cooperation with "Hyundai Motor Company" (South Korea) in 2011. 

Today the plant supplies a wide range of Hyundai, Golden Dragon and Foton vehicles (reanimobiles, fire trucks, garbage trucks, water trucks, wreckers, trucks) to private companies, municipal organizations and government agencies of the republic. In the next few years the company management plans to expand production, create new jobs, increase exports and increase the share of localization.

However, the president of the holding "Astana Group" Nurlan Smagulov drew the attention of the Prime Minister to a number of problematic issues. In particular, they touched on the export of products, transportation of goods from China to Kazakhstan.

Alikhan Smailov noted that the Government actively supports the further diversification of the country's economy and this plant is one example of this work.

"In 12 years the company has significantly strengthened its position in the market. We welcome the company's plans to invest and expand the range of products manufactured. Before the Akimat of the city the Head of the State has set a task to provide the population with comfortable transport and to reduce the burden on the environment. Therefore, this production is important not only for the city, but also for the whole country," the Prime Minister said, promising to assist in solving the voiced problematic issues. 

At present on request of the Ministries of Education and Health Hyundai Trans Almaty plant manufactures school buses of Golden Dragon brand and ambulances based on Hyundai microbus (H350). Particularly, Almaty City Akimat plans to purchase 100 units of new technique for transportation of schoolchildren, who have difficulties to get to school within the framework of a pilot project "School Bus". In total, it is planned to cover more than 7.7 thousand children from 29 educational institutions. It is noted that these buses are equipped with modern safety features. To date, detailed routeing sheets have already been developed for each school; in parallel, special stops for picking up and dropping off children are being prepared with indication of the time of transport arrival.

Prime Minister stressed that one of the main factors to improve the quality of education is a comfortable school environment, which is focused on the needs of each student and ensures his safety. Therefore, the pilot project "School Bus" is a relevant and timely solution in such a large metropolis.

As Deputy Akim of Almaty Alisher Abdykadyrov has noted, the automobile production cluster of the city has been developing rapidly in the recent years: in 2022, 70% of growth of the manufacturing industry was ensured exactly due to the automobile production (37.2 thousand cars were produced).

In November last year the President gave a start to the construction of a new plant for Chinese automakers Changan, Chery and Haval, which is planned to be put into operation in 2025. In addition, four more projects for the production of automotive components and parts are scheduled to be launched in the same period. In general, by 2026 the production of cars in the city is planned to reach 150 thousand a year, with the creation of about 3 thousand high-performance jobs.

Then the Head of the Government got acquainted with the construction of the first plant in Kazakhstan on the production of aluminum and bimetallic radiators for heating by casting under high pressure LLP "Valtherm". Total investment in the project is about 15 billion tenge.

The plant's products are expected to exceed Chinese and Kazakhstan equivalents in strength and heat output by 40-50%. The company plans to create 430 new jobs, partially cover the demand of domestic construction companies and establish supplies to neighboring countries. In the first stage the production capacity of the company will be 7.2 million sections of radiators per year and when the full capacity is reached it will exceed 15 million. The launch of foundry production is already planned for July this year.

Alikhan Smailov noted that the city Akimat needs to pay special attention to the development of such import-substituting production with a high level of processing. In particular, the launch of this plant will make a significant contribution to reducing Kazakhstan's dependence on supplies of radiators from other countries.

The Head of Government added that to support this direction will be worked out measures to curb the uncontrolled export of aluminum scrap outside the country and the introduction of mandatory certification of water heating devices.

In general, according to the Prime Minister, the industrial zone of Almaty is a great center of attraction for domestic and foreign investors. In this regard, the state will continue to actively promote its development. So, today the akimat of the city is expanding its territory to 194 hectares. By the end of 2023, it is planned to create here all the necessary infrastructure: railways, engineering networks, etc. 

"Last year we implemented over 150 industrial projects in the republic that allowed to achieve $2 billion worth of import substitution. This year we plan to increase the number of such projects to 170. This will make it possible to replace imports by $2.9 billion," Alikhan Smailov said.

The Prime Minister also held a meeting with residents of small industrial parks and the city industrial zone, where he was informed about the work of the country's largest plant for the production of interior doors, the construction of a modern scientific and production greenhouse complex, as well as projects to create drip irrigation systems, the production of confectionery and paper packaging.

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