A unique collaboration. A joint venture with Kia Corporation will appear in Kazakhstan
On August 25, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar held a meeting with President of Kia Corporation in the CIS Sang Gwon Jong on strengthening Kazakh-Korean industrial cooperation.
The parties discussed issues of joint production, deepening localization and training of engineering personnel in the automotive industry of Kazakhstan.
"Kazakhstan and Korea are countries whose relations are characterized by rapid development. The focus of attention of the world—famous brand is a landmark event for the entire automotive industry of Kazakhstan, which today is a strategically important component of the industrial development of the state," R. Sklyar said.
During the meeting, constituent documents were signed on the establishment of a joint venture in Kazakhstan "Kia Qazaqstan", which will oversee the construction of a new brand plant in Kostanay, the concomitant appearance of the country's first localization center of the automotive industry and the training of technical specialists of a new format. Investors will invest 90 billion tenge in the project.
"The decision to establish a Kia plant in Kazakhstan was made thanks to the high attention of the President and the Government of Kazakhstan. We will make every effort on our part, and as a first step we will begin construction in October this year. In general, I want to note that such a Kia collaboration abroad has no analogues in the world," Mr. Jong said.
It is reported that the full production cycle at the new Kia plant will be opened in 2025. The capacity area will be more than 85 thousand sq. m. It is planned to create about 1.5 thousand jobs.
It should be noted that the plans for the construction of the plant were first announced by investors during the visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to launch a small-scale production of the brand in Kostanay. The industrial cooperation project has become a vivid example of Kazakh-Korean economic cooperation.
According to the results of last year, the trade turnover between our countries amounted to more than $6 billion, and the volume of foreign direct investment from Korea to Kazakhstan reached $1.5 billion, which is a record figure in the history of economic relations.
Source: Official information resource of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan