The establishment of a special duty-free trade zone modeled after the "Khorgos" trade complex will quadruple the trade turnover between the Mangistau region and Uzbekistan. The proposal to construct such a complex was made by the Akim of Mangistau region, Nurdaulat Kilybay, at an interregional forum that took place this week in Samarkand. Additionally, during the forum, the company "Nukus dilisha" (Uzbekistan), the Beyneu Akimat, and the Kazakhstani "ORC Aktau" signed a memorandum. This document states that Uzbek entrepreneurs plan to build shopping centers in the city of Aktau and the Beyneu district, as reported by a correspondent from the business information center Kapital.kz.
Speaking about trade cooperation, Akim Nurdaulat Kilybay mentioned that a significant portion of food products, vegetables, fruits, and dried fruits on the wholesale markets of the region are brought in from Bukhara, Samarkand, Nukus, and Syrdarya. Approximately 250-300 trucks pass through the "Tazhen" customs post daily, with an average of 25-30 trucks heading to the Mangistau region. This amounts to about 11 thousand tons of goods.
"Our delegation includes the founder of LLP 'ORC Aktau', one of the largest wholesale distribution centers in the country. They are currently fully prepared to provide the necessary trade space and are awaiting concrete steps from the entrepreneurs of Uzbekistan. There, we would like to open a trade area 'Made in Uzbekistan' and organize agricultural fairs," noted Nurdaulat Kilybay.
He also proposed to jointly develop greenhouse farms. "In turn, we are ready to subsidize part of the invested costs, cover expenses for water and fertilizers, ensure the necessary infrastructure, provide low-interest loans, and allocate suitable land plots," said Nurdaulat Kilybay.
According to the Akimat of Mangistau region, there are 140 enterprises with Uzbek participation registered in the region. As of the end of 2023, the foreign trade turnover of the region with Uzbekistan amounted to 13.2 million dollars. The share of imports from the neighboring country in the total trade turnover is about 25%.