China’s Dalian Hesheng Holdings Group plans to build a vertically integrated industrial park for wheat processing in Kazakhstan’s Akmola region. The project, announced on December 18 by Kazakhstan Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov’s office, will cost between £410 million and £655 million (approximately €475 million to €760 million) in its initial phase, with an additional £820 million (around €950 million) for later stages.
Bektenov met with Ma Hunhang, deputy chairman of Dalian Hesheng Holdings, to discuss the project and other investment opportunities in Kazakhstan’s agriculture sector.
The wheat processing plant will process 1 million tonnes of wheat annually in its first phase, with plans to expand capacity to 3 million tonnes in later stages. The project is expected to create about 2000 jobs, and construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2025.
The project will also include a coal-fired thermal power plant and a coal chemical complex, capable of producing 150,000 to 400,000 tonnes of liquid ammonia annually, which will be used in fertilizer production.
In June, Kazakhstan announced another major wheat processing project with China-based CITIC Construction. The £820 million (approximately €950 million) plant in the Almaty region will have an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes of wheat and will produce various products, including fructose syrup, gluten, and feed. Wheat is Kazakhstan’s largest crop, making up 80% of the country’s grain production. The Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture estimates that Kazakhstan will produce 15.8 million tonnes of wheat in the 2024-2025 marketing year. The country has also increased trade with China, with wheat exports growing from 750,000 tonnes in 2019 to 3.5 million tonnes in 2023.