Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov has met with senior leadership of China’s East Hope Group to discuss a series of major investment projects in Kostanay Region, including a proposed one-gigawatt coal-fired power plant intended to supply electricity to a new aluminium complex.
The meeting between Akkenzhenov and East Hope Group Chief Strategy Investment Officer Chen Lei covered the Chinese conglomerate’s plans to develop industrial and energy capacity in the region. Beyond the coal plant and aluminium complex, East Hope Group signalled interest in expanding into renewable energy and broader coal industry projects in Kazakhstan.
Akkenzhenov pledged the Ministry of Energy’s full support for initiatives that strengthen Kazakhstan’s industrial and energy capabilities, emphasising the importance of foreign investment, advanced technology adoption, localisation of production and the creation of high-value-added employment.
East Hope Group is one of China’s largest private industrial conglomerates, with extensive interests in aluminium smelting, silicon manufacturing and chemical industries, making it a strategically relevant partner for Kazakhstan’s ambitions to develop domestic aluminium processing capacity alongside its existing raw material base.
