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突厥斯坦州州长新闻处10月24日称，Türkistan Toqyma（突厥斯坦纺织）有限公司在奥特拉尔区图兰经济特区再投产两座棉花加工厂，加上2025年投产的两座，四座工厂总投资171.29亿坚戈，采用中国棉花加工技术，年可加工籽棉32万吨、产棉纤维11万吨，创造100多个固定岗位。

10月21日，Silumin of Qazaqstan在卡拉干达州萨雷阿尔卡经济特区的Norq铝制和双金属暖气片厂投产，设计年产约500万片，约200个岗位，2028年满负荷。州政府报项目造价206亿坚戈，QIC称总投资超234亿坚戈、其中50亿为QIC股权投资。工厂以废铝和铝渣为原料，哈萨克斯坦自2026年5月1日起再次禁止有色金属废料出口。

Phoenix Industrial Group has redesigned its copper project in the Aktobe SEZ. A letter from its general director, released by the zone operator on October 7, says copper melting and scrap processing are dropped and the plant will make wire and cable from finished copper rod. Investment falls from about $100 million to about $35 million and jobs from 250 to around 100; no new launch date is given. In May the plan was 25,000 tons of refined copper a year from scrap, starting in 2027. The company expects Category III status, which must still be set under the Environmental Code.

Kazakhstan’s Trade Ministry said on October 6 that projects in the Khorgos–Eastern Gate SEZ rose from 14 in 2022 to 69, and attracted investment from KZT 340bn to KZT 652.8bn. One of the largest items is the Kazakhstan–China International Industrial City, valued at KZT 330bn. The Zhetisu regional administration told local media the site covers about 1,000 ha, involves a Chinese partner, and is aimed for launch by end-2029.

In the TURAN special economic zone in Turkistan, Chinese-owned Hygeia Textile Kazakhstan is building a cotton yarn and denim fabric mill on a 20-hectare site. The project costs KZT 25.8 billion; the regional administration plans to launch the first phase by the end of 2026, with about 1,000 jobs at full capacity.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Construction reviewed its 18 special economic zones on October 9 and singled out Turkistan Tokyma, the textile mill of China's Xinjiang Lihua in the Turan SEZ: phase one started in December 2025 with 430 jobs, and at full capacity it is designed to produce 11,400 tonnes of yarn and 47.3 million square metres of fabric a year. The zones have drawn 11.5 trillion tenge in total. According to the regional akimat, the mill represents 86.2 billion tenge of investment, with the remaining three phases planned for completion by December 2026.

Turan Chemical Company, backed by an investor from China, has laid the foundation of a synthetic ammonia and urea plant in the special economic zone of Sauran district, Turkestan region. According to the regional akimat, the project costs $200 million, with annual capacity of 250,000 tonnes of ammonia and about 300,000 tonnes of urea and 300 new jobs. The agreement was signed on 25 September at the Kazakhstan-China Investment Forum. Earlier figures differed, and no start-up date has been announced.

Government Resolution No. 687 of 31 July 2026 amends the Regulation on the Aktobe SEZ, adding sub-zones in the Alga, Mugalzhar and Khromtau districts totalling 337 ha, which for Chinese investors seeking manufacturing sites widens the choice. Per the resolution text, the SEZ covers 1,610 ha, including Aktobe airport and sub-zones in four districts, and is a port SEZ. According to the regional akimat, domestic and foreign investors can be participants; utility supply for some new sites is still being determined.

The Karaganda regional department of entrepreneurship and industry says an industrial zone of republican significance is planned in Temirtau on the basis of Qarmet: eight projects worth over KZT 900 billion and more than 3,000 jobs, including a coke gas utilisation project by China National Chemical Engineering International Corp. (KZT 180 billion) — a possible entry point for Chinese investors in coal chemicals and metallurgy. The concept has been submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Construction for an expert council and is not yet approved; participants are still being studied.

Karaganda Region plans to expand the Saryarka SEZ with three sub-zones in Balkhash and the Karkaraly and Bukhar-Zhyrau districts, expecting about KZT 90 billion of investment and around 2,000 jobs. Two of the sub-zones are for tourism, one is a 40-hectare industrial site. Chinese companies thinking of hotel, tourism or industrial projects in central Kazakhstan may want to watch it, but so far there are only the regional authorities' words and no resolution text.

Government Resolution No. 687 of 31 July 2026 enlarges the Aktobe SEZ from 858 to 1,610 hectares, adds sub-zones in the Alga, Baiganin, Mugalzhar and Khromtau districts, and resets the zone's targets through 2049. For Chinese companies weighing manufacturing in western Kazakhstan it is one more site worth visiting, though the targets are plans, not investment that has arrived.

Government Resolution No. 495 of 1 July 2025 created the Khorgos – Eastern Gate SEZ in Zhetysu Region, a logistics-type zone of 5,431.5 hectares with planned investment of KZT 715.5 billion by 2035. Chinese companies in cross-border logistics, warehousing and processing can follow it, but the SEZ law keeps foreign applicants out of zones whose boundaries coincide with the EAEU customs border. We have not verified whether this zone is one of them, so eligibility should be confirmed with the zone's management company first.

The head of Nero Group told The Astana Times on 25 September, at the forum in Almaty, that a localisation project with Shenzhen-based UBTech is estimated at nearly USD 440 million for its first stage and has already started in an SEZ, covering R&D, programming, production and new jobs. Educational robots are expected to go into production in October. The sum comes from the company head and had not appeared in official materials. Chinese equipment makers should watch how the register of domestic manufacturers counts local content.

Government Resolution No. 336 of 14 May 2025 established SEZ "Korkyt Ata", covering 550 hectares, valid until the end of 2049.