President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev got acquainted with the construction of the KIA automobile plant
September 10, 2024
Kostanay
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the construction site of the KIA automobile plant in the Kostanay region.
The head of state was informed that the construction of the facility began in October 2023. It is planned that the first test car will roll off the assembly line in July next year.
As Kim Dae Ki, General Director of Kia Qazaqstan, said, the plant will be launched in October 2025, at the initial stage the car company plans to produce the Sorento model. From January 2026, the production of the updated Sportage model will begin.
The President was informed that the design capacity of the plant is about 70 thousand cars per year. 1,500 new permanent jobs will be created. It is planned to use technological solutions that ensure high efficiency and environmental friendliness of production. This will be a modern automated enterprise equipped with 70 robots on the welding, painting and assembly lines of cars. The cost of the project is 200 million dollars, of which about 80% is direct foreign investment. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was also presented with a project to create a cluster of components next to the new plant. The construction of the Localization Center has already begun. Kia is working to attract global suppliers of components and spare parts for cars. Park Seyong, Head of the Automotive Coatings Department of KCC Corporation, and Chang Seokwon, Head of the Global Business Management Group of Seoyon Ehwa Global Business, expressed their readiness to organize their production in Kazakhstan on behalf of leading South Korean companies.