Kazakhstan and China plan to build a $1.2 billion steel mill

Kazakhstan and China are planning to build a $1.2 billion steel mill, according to Vlast.kz.

During a recent visit to China’s Fujian Province, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev discussed the localization of production and the launch of new enterprises with Chinese investment.

According to the country’s Ministry of Industry and Construction, a key agreement involved the development of a major investment project with China’s Fujian Hengwang Investment—the construction of a steel mill in Kazakhstan with a capacity of up to 3 million tons of steel per year.

The ministry also noted that the project is expected to create about 2,500 jobs and will be oriented toward both the domestic market and exports.

This project was already discussed by the parties in February 2025—at that time, the plan was to complete the first phase of the project in 2027 with an initial production capacity of 1 million tons. The steel mill will use Kazakhstani raw materials, including natural gas and iron ore. It was planned that the plant would produce wire, rebar, steel for pipe production, as well as angle and section steel.

As a reminder, in December of last year, Asia United Steel began construction of a steel plant in Kazakhstan. The facility in the “Kazybek Bek” industrial zone will produce up to 1.2 million tons of steel and create approximately 600 jobs. The project is being implemented in three phases.