Thursday, August 09, 2012 -
Capital investments in the Astana Special Economic Zone (SEZ) have grown 31 percent in the first half of 2012, the mayor of Kazakhstan’s capital city said in an interview with the prime minister’s website published Thursday.
The SEZ attracted $1.6 billion in the first half of the year, Meder Maselov said.
“The akimat of Astana takes an active part in the attraction of investments. The Investors’ Service Center was established in the city of November last year. Every investor can receive support of the local executive bodies in resolving the issues arising in the course of implementation of an investment project – whether it is construction or a plant or a multi-storey residential complex,” Maselov told Pm.kz.
Forty industrial plants are currently under construction in the SEZ, Maselov added, with seven of these already in operation and another five to be commissioned by the end of the year.
Economic development of the capital in the north has been a priority for the government led by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who relocated the capital to Astana from southern city Almaty in 1997. Almaty remains the country’s financial and business hub, while companies and enterprises have been reluctant to move to Astana due to its relative isolation.