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Construction of Shipbuilding and Shiprepair Yard in Kuryk
Nurlan Balgimbayev, General Director, Directorate of KMG Enterprises Under Construction LLP
Construction of Shipbuilding and Shiprepair Yard in KurykOn June 12, 2014, under the chairmanship of the President Nursultan Nazarbayev, 27th plenary session of the foreign investors Council was held, during which the President of Kazakhstan and the Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi gave a new impulse for bilateral cooperation and further implementation of joint projects in Kazakhstan.
The National Company KazMunayGas and Italian ENI signed an agreement on the implementation of the projects of Issatay and the Shipyard. Under this agreement, the companies agreed:
- on geological exploration of Issatay project to create a joint operating company for evaluation and exploration works;
- on the Shipyard project to ensure the Front End Engineering Design and to develop the project design & estimation documentation, to create a project company for the shipyard construction and operation.
The reached agreements are the logical continuation of the works on these projects and the implementation of state policies, started in 2009: according to them, the foreign investments are involved in industrial projects in exchange for an access to the subsoil resources.
Issatay, an exploration project, is attractive from the investors’ viewpoint. The carried out preliminary geological studies have shown the presence of significant hydrocarbon reserves. It is estimated that commercial production will start in six years from signing of the contract. Project’s beneficiaries will be KazMunayGas and ENI on a parity basis. It is expected that the oil will be supplied to the external and domestic markets.
The Shipyard project is strategically important for the country’s economy. Necessity in creating a domestic ship repair and ship construction facility is justified, because every year there has been an increase in the transportation volume and, accordingly, in the demand for sea transportation services. As it is known, Kazakhstan does not have its own shipbuilding and ship repairing base. Maintenance of the major fleet of the Caspian Sea is performed at the shipyards of Russia and Azerbaijan. There are more than 10 shipyards on ship building and repair in Astrakhan. In recent years, the neighbouring Caspian countries built and upgraded their shipbuilding and ship-repairing facilities.
Construction of Shipbuilding and Shiprepair Yard in KurykWe shall not fall behind in this area. The Directorate of KMG Enterprises Under Construction was established under assignment of the Head of State, as subsidiary of KazMunay-Gas, being responsible for the management and implementation of Shipyard project. The Directorate, in partnership with the Italian company ENI, have carried out a large volume of preparatory work for the project. The public hearing in Kuryk village were conducted, and the project received support and approval from the local authorities and people. Feasibility study was developed and obtained a positive conclusion from the state expertise. Thus, the first phase of works was successfully completed early this year.
An expanded meeting on the Shipyard with participation of local officials, KazMunaiGas, Eni and designers team was held in the city of Aktau under the chairmanship of Mr. A. Aidarbayev, Akim of Mangystau region, July 21 this year. The project implementation plan was approved at the meeting by the local authorities and obtained the full support for the second phase of the works - development of project design & estimation documentation.
The Dutch company Royal Haskoning, with considerable design experience in similar projects, was chosen for the Front End Engineering Design and development of design & estimation documentation, based on the results of the international tender. The Kazakh part in design works and engineering survey is represented by the following design institutes: NIPIneftegaz (Aktau) and NIPI Caspimunaigas (Atyrau).