New factory projects in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan worth hundreds of millions

New industrial projects are being prepared in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, covering petroleum refining, fertilisers, paints, glass containers and rare earth products. Some investments are estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, with some projects still in preparation and others already under construction.

According to the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), China's Raising Sun Technology intends to invest more than $200 million in a paint and dye plant in the Chust Free Economic Zone in Namangan region, Uzbekistan. The first of three stages envisages $85 million and 500 jobs. In Kyrgyzstan's Talas region, Kazakh company QAZAQ BITUM Processing plans a complex estimated at about $350 million to process straight-run gasoline and diesel fractions and produce polymer-modified PG bitumen.

In Kazakhstan, Silkway Metals plans to modernise an operating plant in Stepnogorsk and build a facility to process and separate rare earth metals, with total investment of $150 million over 2026–2028. In Sauran district of Turkestan region, construction has begun on a $200 million synthetic ammonia and urea plant, due to launch in 2028.