A Chinese company is interested in implementing joint energy
projects in Kazakhstan, as was announced by Vice President of the company Zhao
Zhengxiang at a meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov. Kazakhstan
had adopted the relevant Concept for Electricity Sector Development, according
to Smailov. Thus, modernization projects are now being put in place to increase
the capacity of existing power plants to more than 1,700 megawatts (MW) by
2027. The restoration of power unit No. 1 at the Ekibastuz coal-fired thermal
power station (GRES-1), which will be completed this year, will provide an
additional 500 MW of energy in the upcoming autumn-winter period. At the same
time, there are plans to build new combined heat and power plants (CHPPs) in
the cities of Kokshetau and Semei. Work is underway to modernize Kazakhstan’s
national power grid. Also, the project to enhance power grids in western
Kazakhstan is slated to be completed this year, while a project to harden power
grids in the South Kazakhstan region is under development. In turn, Zhao
Zhengxiang expressed the company’s readiness to develop joint projects on
mutually beneficial terms and bolster cooperation in general.
