Kazakhstan to boost Economy by 50% with Industrial Projects

    Kazakhstan, the biggest energy producer in central Asia, plans to raise gross domestic product by 50 percent over six years through investment in industrial projects, Industry and Trade Minister Aset Isekeshev said.
    The nation also plans to boost labor productivity by as much as 100 percent through 2014, compared with 2008, Isekeshev told the Cabinet in Astana today, according to a statement on the government website. He didn’t elaborate on the projects.
    Kazakhstan’s Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund plans to invest in 30 industrial projects at a cost of $23 billion, Chief Executive Officer Kairat Kelimbetov said on Feb.18, according to Novosti-Kazakhstan. The projects are due for completion by 2015, the Astana-based news service reported.
    Growth in central Asia’s biggest energy producer slowed to 1.2 percent last year from 3.2 percent in 2008. The economy grew 10 percent on average each year between 2000 and 2007 as energy and commodity prices rose, according to Bloomberg.