Assisting Kazakhstan in Enhancing Industrial Capacity "(Joint Interview with China Central Asia Media on High Quality Co construction of the Belt and Road Initiative)

The Caspian Asphalt Plant is jointly invested by CITIC Group and Kazakhstan National Oil and Gas Company. It is the only refinery in Central Asia specialized in producing high standard road asphalt and the first large-scale petrochemical project built in Kazakhstan after independence. It was completed and put into operation in 2013. In May of this year, the factory completed capacity expansion and upgrading, increasing its annual crude oil processing capacity from 1 million tons to 1.5 million tons, and increasing its asphalt production from 500000 tons to 750000 tons. This effectively alleviates the shortage of road asphalt needed for infrastructure construction in Kazakhstan, and is another pragmatic cooperation achievement of China Kazakhstan high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road".

In the newly renovated factory area, the brand new equipment shines brightly in the sunlight. Talgat Muhanov, the first deputy general manager of the Caspian Asphalt Plant, stated in an interview with reporters (see Figure 2, photographed by People's Daily reporter Obu) that the renovation project is undertaken by CITIC Construction Co., Ltd. and all of it adopts Chinese technology and equipment. The project was completed ahead of schedule and received high praise from the President of Kazakhstan, Tokayev, and the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan

The lifting of this 39.9-meter-high and 140 ton vacuum tower is the most difficult part of the renovation project, "said Mahmud Majibaev, Deputy General Manager of Production at the factory, pointing to the tallest building in the factory." The vacuum distillation technology of the vacuum tower can improve the crude oil processing capacity and further enhance product quality. The project also adopts technologies such as low nitrogen burners and waste heat recovery to reduce pollutant emissions while achieving energy recycling

What I saw and heard in the factory left a deep impression on Azizijon Maksudov, the media affairs director of Tajikistan's Avista News Agency: "The factory's production technology is very advanced, and many management processes have been fully automated, which is a contraction of China Central Asian countries' production capacity cooperation. Tajikistan has a diverse geographical environment and climate, and high-quality asphalt is needed for road construction. Therefore, I focused on the feasibility of the factory cooperating with Tajikistan to produce or sell asphalt to Tajikistan. I hope to promote the construction of similar factories in Tajikistan through my own reporting

This factory will help Kazakhstan enhance its industrial capacity and achieve economic transformation. It is a strategically significant project. We hope to see more modern projects like this in the future, especially those that cooperate with China. Practical cooperation between Kazakhstan and China will contribute to the rapid improvement of Kazakhstan's industrial level, "said Oleksa Korzova, a reporter from Kazakhstan News Agency today

(Aktau, Kazakhstan, June 3)

Our reporter Xie Yahong, People's Daily reporter Ou Bu