The governor of Kazakhstan’s Abay region signed an agreement with the Chinese company Xinjiang Sanbao Industrial Group to build an electrolytic aluminum smelter, regional authorities announced.
The total investment in the project, which includes the construction of a 1 GW wind farm to power the smelter, will be $1.5 billion.
The smelter is expected to produce up to 300,000 tons of electrolytic aluminum per year.
Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2027, with commissioning scheduled for December 2028.
The smelter is expected to supply finished products both to the domestic market and to China and Central Asian countries.
Xinjiang Sanbao Industrial Group is a large Chinese diversified industrial and trading corporation. It specializes in the design, procurement of equipment, and construction of large industrial facilities.
In September 2025, the company became a technology partner in the construction of a large methanol plant jointly with the Kazakh company Zhaik Petroleum. (Logistan)