China-backed Yonggang Central Asia Iron and Steel builds steel complex in Jibek Joly SEZ, with 1 Mt first phase due in 2027

A full-cycle steel complex is under way in the Jibek Joly special economic zone in the Shu district of Zhambyl region. The investor is China's Fujian Hengwang Investment Co., Ltd., and the project is being implemented by its Kazakh subsidiary Yonggang Central Asia Iron and Steel LLP, which has been granted SEZ participant status (unconfirmed).

According to the Prime Minister's website, an investment agreement has been signed, and the industrial zone already has rail tracks, power lines and access to natural gas. The project has two stages; the complex is scheduled to start operating in 2027, followed by two years of expansion to up to 3 million tonnes of products a year.

Qazba.kz, citing the scoping conclusion of the project's environmental impact assessment, reported that the first phase will have a capacity of 1 million tonnes a year and the second up to 3 million tonnes. Construction is planned for 2026–2029, with the first phase commissioned in 2027, the second by 2029, and operations lasting at least 25 years.

The process chain in the project documentation runs from iron ore preparation and beneficiation through pelletising, natural-gas-based direct reduced iron (DRI), electric arc furnace steelmaking, refining and continuous casting to rolling. Main products are rebar, sections, profiles and strip. Metafront, citing documents released by environmental authorities, likewise describes a natural-gas DRI and electric furnace route. The Prime Minister's website says otherwise, describing it as the country's first steel complex using a hydrogen-based shaft furnace. The discrepancy has not been resolved.

The Prime Minister's website says about 1,500 temporary workers will be hired during construction and more than 2,500 permanent staff after commissioning; Metafront, citing the Zhambyl regional government, also puts permanent jobs at around 2,500. (unconfirmed) The same government source says the company plans to hire at least 90% of its staff locally.

(unconfirmed) Investment figures vary: the Prime Minister's website gives a total of US$756 million; National Business and Kursiv reported in September that the figure had risen to US$1.2 billion, both citing the same Qazba material; Metafront, citing regional authorities, gives KZT 564 billion.

(unconfirmed) Kursiv reported that a 350 MW gas turbine power plant is planned for the second stage, and that the complex will use iron ore from Karaganda, Kostanay and Ulytau regions. Metafront, citing contractor Hebei Metallurgical Construction Group, said the first steel column of the reformer was erected on August 30, marking the start of main equipment installation.

The investor chose the SEZ for its tax incentives and preferences (unconfirmed). The legal basis is the Law on Special Economic and Industrial Zones (No. 242-VI).

This is a steelmaking project that will smelt Kazakh iron ore into steel, not a mining project. In the newsroom's view, for Chinese steel and equipment companies the project matters as a chain that turns Kazakh ore into steel inside the country; the process route and final investment figure still await a consistent position from the investor.

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Sources:
- Official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan: https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/realizatsiya-investproekta-kak-stroitsya-novyy-zavod-po-proizvodstvu-stali-v-zhambylskoy-oblasti-30164
- Qazba.kz, Sep 22, 2026: https://qazba.kz/metallurgiya/too-yonggang-central-asia-iron-and-steel-planiruet-zapustit-v-2027-godu-pervuyu-ochered-metkombinata/
- National Business, Sep 22, 2026: https://nationalbusiness.kz/news/kitaytsi-zapustyat-v-kazahstane-noviy-metallurgicheskiy-kombinat-za-12-mlrd-6fc116/
- Kursiv, Sep 22, 2026: https://kz.kursiv.media/2026-09-22/zhnb-moshhnyi-metallurgicheskii-kombinat-zapustit-kitai-v-zhambylskoi-oblasti/
- Metafront, Sep 15, 2026: https://metafront.news/kazakhstan-begins-full-scale-installation-of-3-million-ton-dri-steel-plant-phase-1-to-start-operations-in-2027/
Original: "According to the government of Zhambyl Region … Total investment is set at 564 billion tenge, with the plant expected to create around 2,500 permanent jobs once operational." / "PAF (Pan Asia Forward), the organization supporting the project, has put total investment at around 1.2 billion dollars. The project is expected to create around 1,500 jobs during construction and more than 2,500 jobs after the plant becomes operational."
Note: Metafront does not cite Qazba or mention the EIA; it describes the process route from "project documents released by Kazakhstan's environmental authorities" and attributes the jobs and investment figures to the Zhambyl regional government and PAF (Pan Asia Forward).
- Law on Special Economic and Industrial Zones (adilet Z1900000242): https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/Z1900000242

(This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor; the illustration is AI-generated and is not a photograph.)