The Aktau seaport on the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan's rapidly developing hub for maritime freight, will undergo a major expansion in the coming years in a bid to draw more businesses to set up shop in its free economic zone (FEZ), including the seaport since 2003.
The Aktau seaport FEZ is now set to expand from 227 hectares to almost 1000 hectares according to a new presidential decree.
Krymbek Kusherbayev, Akim (Governor) of the Mangistau oblast (region) of which Aktau is the administrative centre, announced the news recently.
Kusherbayev explained the move by the desire to maximize the use of the seaport, promote trade, ensure sustainable economic growth and bring down local unemployment. The free economic zone regime offers companies registered their tax and customs breaks.
"This gives us hope the additional 755 hectares of a free economic zone space will lure industrial enterprises capable of producing exportable goods and substituting imports," Kusherbayev added.
The FEZ expansion will help accommodate the spreading out of the seaport to service ever increasing volumes of cargo shipments through it going to Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran and the world beyond. It is from Aktau that most of Kazakhstan's tankers leave for Baku, Azerbaijan, carrying oil to be fed into the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline supported by the United States.
The zone's expansion will also include expanded logistical services such as communications, temporary storage facilities, open-air areas for storing machinery, and cargo container repair shops.
The FEZ already has three new projects developing along those lines, including Keppel Kazakhstan, a plant of metallic constructions, NefteGazTruba, a pipe producing plant, and a factory to produce fiberglass pipes. This year along, plans are afoot to locate 15 new export-oriented productions in the Aktau zone.
The zone will also house Aktau Industries, a centre to develop infrastructure of the Caspian shelf, and Aktau Free Trade, a transportation and logistics centre for international trans-border cooperation. (ANI)
The Aktau seaport FEZ is now set to expand from 227 hectares to almost 1000 hectares according to a new presidential decree.
Krymbek Kusherbayev, Akim (Governor) of the Mangistau oblast (region) of which Aktau is the administrative centre, announced the news recently.
Kusherbayev explained the move by the desire to maximize the use of the seaport, promote trade, ensure sustainable economic growth and bring down local unemployment. The free economic zone regime offers companies registered their tax and customs breaks.
"This gives us hope the additional 755 hectares of a free economic zone space will lure industrial enterprises capable of producing exportable goods and substituting imports," Kusherbayev added.
The FEZ expansion will help accommodate the spreading out of the seaport to service ever increasing volumes of cargo shipments through it going to Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran and the world beyond. It is from Aktau that most of Kazakhstan's tankers leave for Baku, Azerbaijan, carrying oil to be fed into the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline supported by the United States.
The zone's expansion will also include expanded logistical services such as communications, temporary storage facilities, open-air areas for storing machinery, and cargo container repair shops.
The FEZ already has three new projects developing along those lines, including Keppel Kazakhstan, a plant of metallic constructions, NefteGazTruba, a pipe producing plant, and a factory to produce fiberglass pipes. This year along, plans are afoot to locate 15 new export-oriented productions in the Aktau zone.
The zone will also house Aktau Industries, a centre to develop infrastructure of the Caspian shelf, and Aktau Free Trade, a transportation and logistics centre for international trans-border cooperation. (ANI)