Kazakhstan signed 20 agreements with foreign companies in green energy, infrastructure, and digitization on Dec. 2 during Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s participation in the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai, where he conveyed the country’s strong commitment to addressing global climate challenges, according to the Kazakh Invest national company.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) state-owned clean energy company Masdar announced the construction of a large-scale 1GW wind power station in Kazakhstan. The $1.4 billion project aligns with Kazakhstan’s goal to transition from fossil fuels towards clean energy, as the country has pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2060.
“We are delighted to move forward with our first project in Kazakhstan and to help the country meet its ambitious renewable energy targets,” said Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi.
Spearheaded by Masdar, the wind power project will involve Abu Dhabi-based W Solar, Qazaq Green Power renewable company, and the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund (KIDF).
The Kazakh Ministry of Energy, Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund, and the UAE Ministry of Investment signed a memorandum of understanding on implementing low- carbon energy projects with a total capacity of 10 GW.
Apart from this, more than $100 million in investments will be realized by Al Amana Power Solutions FZCO (APS) and Kazakh Invest in renewable energy initiatives.
Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power agreed to develop a project to construct wind power stations with a total capacity of 1 GW and an energy storage system in the Zhetysu Region.
Another wind farm deal was agreed by the Kazakh government and France’s TotalEnergies. The wind power station will be constructed in the Zhambyl Region. TotalEnergies’ Mirnyi project aims to build a 1 GW onshore wind farm of up to 160 turbines combined with a 600 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system for a reliable power supply.
Financing mechanisms for venture projects are crucial to support the sustainability of innovations. Qazaqstan Investment Corporation and Abu Dhabi’s ADQ signed a memorandum of understanding.
According to the signed joint venture agreement, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy national railway company and Abu Dhabi Ports Group will collaborate in five key areas – maritime transportation, maritime and dry ports, railway logistics, digitization, and trading.
“Our joint venture with Kazakhstan Railways has the potential to not only strengthen maritime connectivity between the Middle East and Central Asia but also open up new trade routes, making it easier and more efficient to move goods across these two regions,” said AD Ports Group CEO Abdulaziz Zayed Al-Shamsi.
President Tokayev stressed the pivotal role of the partnership with AD Ports Group in transforming the ports of Aktau and Kuryk into the leading maritime hub on the Caspian Sea.
Digitization and information technologies were also part of the agenda – Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund and Presight.AI, which provides AI software services, plan to establish a joint venture to utilize big data analytics solutions, particularly in including energy, public services and transport, and digital transformation.
The two companies will also explore the development of high-performance computing (HPC) capacity in Kazakhstan and the potential to develop enterprise AI solutions, including the Kazakh large language model (LLM).
The signing ceremony of the agreement on the construction of the 1GW wind power station in Kazakhstan by the UAE’s Masdar. Photo credit: masdar.ae.