Tokayev tours Temirtau, Kazakhstan, rides the revived tram and visits the Qarmet steel plant
Tokayev tours Temirtau, Kazakhstan, rides the revived tram and visits the Qarmet steel plant
Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev travelled to the Karaganda region on Monday, visiting the industrial city of Temirtau. He rode the city's revived tram line from Republic Avenue to the Inzhenernaya stop, checking the restored system that steelmaker Qarmet handed back to the city two years ago.
Tokayev called the tram "a link between eras" for the steel city, and praised residents who had pushed for its restoration. He then toured Qarmet's converter shop, where molten iron from the blast furnace is turned into steel before casting and rolling.
Temirtau is a test case for Kazakhstan's industrial revival. Qarmet was taken back under domestic control after years of foreign ownership, and the city around it had been left run down. Tokayev's visit signals that Astana wants the plant's turnaround to show up in the city itself, not just in steel output.
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