Kazakhstan is gradually reshaping the way large industrial projects are financed. Instead of competition between state institutions and commercial banks, a new partnership model is taking shape - one where risks and responsibilities are shared step by step. The story of the Aktogay mining and processing plant has become one of the clearest examples of this shift, DKNews.kz reports.
At the center of this approach is JSC Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK), a subsidiary of the Baiterek Holding, which is systematically implementing a strategy to attract private capital into the real sector of the economy.
One of Central Asia’s largest copper projects
KAZ Minerals Aktogay LLP operates one of the largest open-pit copper mines in Central Asia. Located in the Abai Region, the mining and processing complex has grown into a major industrial asset of national importance.
Today, the facility includes:
- two sulphide concentrators with a combined capacity of 50 million tonnes of ore per year
- a plant producing cathode copper from oxidised ore
- fully automated process control systems across mining and processing operations
Aktogay is a modern, low-cost operation built on advanced mining and beneficiation technologies, designed for long-term efficiency and stability.
DBK entered when risks were at their highest
The Development Bank of Kazakhstan began financing the Aktogay project in 2016, at the most challenging stage - construction and commissioning. At this phase, project risks are typically highest, and commercial banks tend to remain cautious.
Today, Aktogay stands as one of the largest investments in DBK’s portfolio.
With the Bank’s support, a new concentrator was built as part of the project’s second phase. This investment:
- doubled sulphide ore processing capacity from 25 to 50 million tonnes per year
- created more than 2,100 permanent jobs
From high risk to financial stability
Aktogay has now reached a stable operational and financial stage. The first financing facility was fully repaid on schedule, and the first phase of the project achieved its planned payback.
An even more telling milestone followed - the early repayment of obligations under the second facility, financed through Halyk Bank.
This was not a routine payment, but a full refinancing transaction. Halyk Bank acquired the outstanding debt owed by the project to DBK and took over servicing an asset that had already proven its economic sustainability. In effect, the commercial bank entered the project at the operational stage, when risks were minimised and cash flows had become highly predictable.
A financing model aligned with presidential policy
This mechanism directly reflects the President’s instruction to actively channel excess liquidity of commercial banks into the real economy.
In practical terms, the model works as follows:
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DBK enters first, assuming the highest initial project risk
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the project is built, launched, and stabilised
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commercial banks step in later, financing a proven, operating asset
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DBK frees up capital to support new projects from scratch
“Refinancing the obligations of the Aktogay mining and processing plant by Halyk Bank enables us to efficiently utilise the available liquidity of private banks. This frees up DBK’s resources to support new industrial initiatives from the ground up and to fulfil our core mandate of stimulating economic growth,” said Marat Yelibayev, Chairman of the Management Board of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan.
A continuous investment cycle
The funds released through this refinancing deal will now be redirected by DBK toward new capital-intensive projects at early stages of development.
This creates a continuous investment cycle: DBK enters projects at the most difficult stage, brings them to operational stability, transfers them to commercial banks, and then reinvests once again into the economy.
The Aktogay project demonstrates that this sequential partnership model between the state and private banking sector is not just theoretical - it works in practice and may become a new standard for financing industrial development in Kazakhstan.
