Manufacturing in Almaty and the region: industrial zones, building materials, energy

What kind of manufacturing is profitable to start in Kazakhstan

Factories that do best have their market nearby and raw materials that are local or easy to bring in. In the Almaty industrial zone, according to akimat (city administration) data cited by Kapital.kz, the fastest-growing sectors are building materials, machine building, transport logistics, chemicals, waste recycling and everyday consumer goods.

The 2026 list shows well what's being launched there right now: heating and water supply equipment, PVC sheet, aerated concrete blocks and ALC panels, household paper products, steel structures for roads and bridges, and a logistics complex. Among the 14 projects launched in 2025 were a car plant and facilities for building materials, feed additives and tyre recycling.

Industrial zones and SEZs near Almaty

The main site in the city is the Almaty industrial zone in Alatau District. It has 151 companies with announced investments of 914.2 billion ₸. About 376 ha is planned for the third phase of expansion, of which 323 ha has already been bought out. Another five small industrial parks with a total area of more than 22,000 m² are designed for small producers that don't need their own plot.

Almaty also has the Park of Innovative Technologies special economic zone (SEZ), and on the border with China there's the Khorgos – Eastern Gate SEZ. In Almaty Region, according to Kazinform, the authorities are preparing small industrial zones based on existing buildings and have identified sites for industrial parks in 12 districts.

Making building materials: my experience with a concrete plant

In 2019 I launched my own concrete production: Dalila Group TOO, website tasbeton.kz, with our own concrete batching plant in the village of Burundai. Before that I'd spent about four years building turnkey houses, so I knew the market from the buyer's side.

We delivered concrete all over Almaty: from the Eastern Bypass to the village of Abai and from Burundai to Zvezdnaya Polyana, where the upper TAMOS school stands. That's how I learned in practice the main rule of building materials: the winner is whoever can deliver fast, not whoever has cheaper equipment.

In winter construction slows down and demand for concrete falls. I didn't wait for spring and started selling aggregates in 25 kg bags: sand, crushed stone, screenings, expanded clay, as well as gravel and boulders. People bought them both by the truckload and by the bag for apartment renovations, because almost no one sold them in that format. One apartment took 30–50 bags on average. That experience taught me to look for demand where others see a dead season. After the lockdown I sold the project at a good price.

Electricity and logistics for manufacturing in southern Kazakhstan

Energy in the south is in short supply. According to Informburo (September 2026), the southern zone covers about half of its demand from local generation, and the rest comes over lines from the north, which are almost fully loaded. The Ministry of Energy promises to cover all of the country's demand from early 2027, and a nuclear power plant is due to start operating in Almaty Region in the mid-2030s.

In practice this means I request the technical conditions for power capacity before the plot is bought. For production with furnaces, presses or refrigeration, the difference between "capacity is available" and "you need to build a substation" can cost more than the building itself.

On logistics Almaty has an advantage: the rail bypass around the city, highways to Bishkek, Khorgos and Astana, and proximity to China for importing equipment and raw materials.

Example: how much a workshop needs to sell to break even

An illustrative example with assumptions, not data from a real workshop. A paving tile workshop in rented premises. Fixed monthly costs: rent, wages, electricity, equipment maintenance and loan payments of about 6 million ₸. After raw materials, each square metre of tiles leaves roughly 1,500 ₸.

Break-even point: 6 million ₸ / 1,500 ₸ = 4,000 m² of tiles a month. In winter tile sales almost stop, so in summer the workshop has to sell noticeably more to cover the year. Before buying a production line, I'd check who you'll actually sell to, and how much, within your delivery radius.

How to choose a plot or workshop for manufacturing

• Land category: industrial, with no need for rezoning
• Allocated power capacity and the cost of increasing it
• Gas: for dryers, furnaces and heating the workshop it's cheaper than electricity
• Truck access and space for turning and unloading
• Sanitary protection zone: noisy and dusty production can't be placed next to housing
• Staff: transport to the workshop and a labour pool nearby
• Distance to customers: for heavy, cheap goods every kilometre eats into the margin

Risks of manufacturing projects: what to watch

• Power shortages in the south: a connection can take months and cost a lot
• The tenge exchange rate: equipment and some raw materials are imported
• Seasonality in building materials: revenue falls in winter while costs stay
• Price competition with imports from China
• Environmental requirements and sanitary protection zones limit the choice of plot
• Investment commitments in an industrial zone: if you don't meet them, the plot can be taken back
• Staff: skilled workers and process engineers have to be found and trained