Kazakhstan is a step closer to producing its own soda ash. On October 15 BI Group said its industrial arm, BI-Industrial, had completed the full EPC cycle - design, procurement, construction and commissioning - on five of the 12 facilities at the Soda Ash plant in the Zhambyl region. The investor is Qazaq Soda LLP and the general contractor is China's CAMCE. Phase one is designed to make 500,000 tonnes of soda ash a year.
One caveat up front: this is a contractor handing over its scope, not the plant starting production. As of October 16, neither the investor nor the government had announced a start of output.
Most of BI-Industrial's work was earthmoving and site infrastructure. The largest piece is a 658-hectare evaporation pond that required 809,000 cubic metres of earthworks. A 25-hectare solid-waste store took roughly another 221,000 cubic metres, pushing the two past one million. At the waste store the company used a layered geomembrane and geotextile liner for the first time, to keep waste away from soil and groundwater. The scope also covered an 18-hectare limestone area with a crushing and sorting complex rated at 1.2 million tonnes a year, more than a kilometre of rail track, and an 8.7-hectare residential camp with six apartment buildings, two villas, a shopping centre, a pool and a 68-room hotel. BI-Industrial also bought and delivered 27 pieces of specialised machinery for the plant's operations.
The schedule has already moved. BI Group's English release in March put the phase-one launch in September. On July 11 First Deputy Prime Minister Nurlybek Nalibayev toured the site, and the government's readout, carried by Kazinform and Kapital.kz, said phase one is due for completion in the fourth quarter of 2026. The government says capacity will later rise to 1 million tonnes; BI Group's March release mentioned 3 million. The figures don't match, and we go with the government's. Construction has created 1,500 temporary jobs, and 375 permanent jobs are expected after start-up. Under state support, gas, power, a rail spur and a water pipeline are being brought to the site.
Sources describe the investor's parentage differently. BI Group calls Qazaq Soda part of Turkey's COREX Group; the project was presented to the first deputy PM by Ismail Ceylan, executive director of Turkey's YILDIRIM Holding; and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan's project page lists Ali Riza Yildirim and Yuksel Yildirim as ultimate beneficiaries. What is clear is that the money is Turkish.
China shows up twice. First, on the build. CAMCE says that on June 17, 2025, during the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, it signed a business contract with the owner for phase II (sections 1 and 2) of the project worth $337 million, covering design, procurement, construction and commissioning at Zhanatas. Its parent SINOMACH published the same announcement.
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Second, on the money. In an April 26, 2024 filing on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK) said it had signed an intercreditor agreement with Singapore's ING Bank, Bank of China and Halyk Bank, with China's Sinosure insuring the ING and Bank of China tranches. DBK put the total project cost at about 207 billion tenge, its own share at 12 billion, and called it the bank's first syndicated deal with foreign lenders under English law. The DBK project page breaks it down as $412 million in total cost, $125.9 million from the borrower and $260.1 million from other creditors, with DBK's tenge loan at 11% a year. Lawyers to the syndicate said in January 2024 that three facility agreements totalling $286 million had been signed.
Why it matters: soda ash goes into glass, metallurgy, chemicals and water treatment, and Kazakhstan has no domestic production yet. BI Group put imports at about 400,000 tonnes a year in March; the prime minister's press service earlier cited consumption of 350,000-400,000 tonnes. The government says phase one at full capacity would cover domestic demand.
What follows is our inference, not a sourced fact. If phase one starts on time, importers of soda ash will face local competition, and new glass projects in the country - such as the Aktobe glass container plant slated for 2029 that we covered earlier - would have a supplier much closer to home. How big the effect is depends on timing, quality and price, none of which has been disclosed.
For Chinese firms weighing contracting work in Kazakhstan, the deal structure is the lesson: a Turkish investor, a Chinese general contractor, a Kazakh subcontractor, and a syndicate of Kazakh, Chinese and European banks under Sinosure cover. BI-Industrial project manager Aidana Bulatova said change requests kept arriving during construction and the team had to reshuffle resources and sequencing as it went. How to split scope with local subcontractors and how to manage variations are questions best settled before signing.
Sources:
BI Group press release (primary, Russian, 15 Oct 2026), https://bi.group/ru/news/bi-industrial-zavershila-kompleks-rabot-na-promyshlennom-proekte-soda-ash
BI Group release (primary, English, 11 Mar 2026), https://bi.group/en/news/bi-industrial-v-mezhdunarodnoj-kooperacii-realizuet-proekt-po-proizvodstvu-sody
Forbes.kz (15 Oct 2026), https://forbes.kz/articles/bi-industrial-zavershila-epc-raboty-na-zavode-soda-ash-v-kazahstane-d9d24a
Official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (primary, 11 Jul 2026), https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/nurlybek-nalibaev-oznakomilsya-s-hodom-realizacii-krupnyh-investicionnyh-i-infrastrukturnyh-proektov-v-zhambylskoy-oblasti-31637
Kazinform (11 Jul 2026), https://www.inform.kz/ru/kakie-krupnie-investproekti-realizuyut-v-zhambilskoy-oblasti-2f403167
Kapital.kz, https://kapital.kz/economic/150342/kak-realizuyut-krupnye-investicionnye-proekty-v-zhambylskoj-oblasti.html
CAMCE official website (primary, 19 Jun 2025), http://www.camce.com.cn/xben/enxwzx/engsdt/202506/t20250626_552190.html
SINOMACH official website, https://www.sinomach.com.cn/en/MediaCenter/News/202506/t20250626_552394.html
Development Bank of Kazakhstan, KASE filing (primary, 26 Apr 2024), https://kase.kz/files/emitters/BRKZ/brkz_relizs_260424_1_rus.pdf
Development Bank of Kazakhstan, project page (primary), https://www.kdb.kz/en/ajax/project.php?LANG=EN_&PROJECT_ID=14088
CEE Legal Matters (17 Jan 2024), https://ceelegalmatters.com/deals-and-cases/25391-baker-mckenzie-and-esin-advise-on-financing-for-qazaq-soda
Trend (citing the Prime Minister's press service), https://www.trend.az/business/4032340.html
(Cover is an AI-generated schematic vector illustration, not a photograph and not a depiction of any specific site.)
Key facts
- BI-Industrial has completed full-cycle EPC work for five of the 12 facilities at the soda ash plant in Jambyl Region.
- The soda ash plant is being invested in by Qazaq Soda, with CAMCE serving as the general contractor, and Phase I has a design capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year.
- The five facilities include a 658-hectare evaporation pond and a 25-hectare solid-waste storage facility, with combined earthwork exceeding 1 million cubic metres.
- The Kazakhstan government said in July that Phase I of the soda ash plant would be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.
- The project’s lending syndicate comprises the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, Bank of China, ING, and Halyk Bank, with Sinosig providing loan insurance coverage.
- Kazakhstan currently has no domestic soda ash production capacity, and BI Group says the country imports approximately 400,000 tonnes annually.
FAQ
Does the completion of the EPC work mean that the soda ash plant is already in operation?
No. This marks the completion of the full-cycle EPC work for five supporting facilities undertaken by BI-Industrial and represents a subcontract completion milestone. As of October 16, neither the investors nor the government had announced that operations had formally commenced.
What is the project’s production capacity, and when will it start operations?
Phase I has a design capacity of 500,000 tonnes of soda ash per year. The Kazakhstan government said in July that Phase I would be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026; a March press release from BI Group had previously stated that operations would begin in September.
How is the Chinese company participating in the project?
CAMCE is the project’s general contractor. During the Second China-Central Asia Summit in June 2025, the company signed the commercial contract for Phase II with the project owner, totaling USD 337 million and covering design, procurement, construction, and commissioning.
Which institutions are financing the project?
The lending syndicate comprises the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, Bank of China, ING, and Halyk Bank. Sinosig provides insurance coverage for the loans from ING and Bank of China. The Development Bank of Kazakhstan said the project’s total investment was approximately 207 billion tenge, with the bank contributing 12 billion tenge.
What does this mean for investors interested in the Kazakhstan market?
Kazakhstan still has no domestic soda ash production capacity, and BI Group says the country imports approximately 400,000 tonnes annually. According to the government, Phase I will be able to cover domestic demand once it reaches full capacity, potentially affecting suppliers that export to Kazakhstan and downstream projects such as local glassmaking projects.