Kazakhstan Names Nigeria As Beneficiary Of $75m Satellite Manufacturing Initiative

Kazakhstan has released details of an statement valued astatine USD75 cardinal for a outer manufacturing programme. The programme includes partnerships with Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), marking a important milestone successful the nation’s processing abstraction industry.

The concern involves the improvement of distant sensing satellites for export to these African nations, forming portion of a broader programme to conception six satellites successful total.

Four volition service arsenic optical Earth distant sensing satellites, portion 2 volition beryllium radar satellites that usage lunar radar exertion to scan the Earth’s aboveground and supply three-dimensional spatial data.
Speaking astatine a Senate briefing, Malik Olzhabekov, vice curate of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry, revealed that the export spacecraft would outgo betwixt USD 70 cardinal and USD 75 million.

“I’ll sanction the wide scope for these export contracts, arsenic the specifics are, unfortunately, not for nationalist disclosure nether the contract’s terms,” helium explained. “According to my estimates, the full outgo of these satellites is betwixt USD 70 cardinal and USD 75 million.” Ghalam LLP, a associated task 72 per cent owned by Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary and 27 per cent by Airbus Defence and Space, volition make the satellites, with completion expected successful 2026.

“We program to implicit our satellites by the extremity of 2026, and enactment connected their instauration is already successful afloat swing,” the Vice Minister added. “The motorboat is expected successful aboriginal 2027. The different 3 satellites volition beryllium acceptable betwixt 2028 and 2029.”

The fiscal disclosure relates to agreements announced separately passim 2025. In February, Kazakhstan signed an concern statement with the Democratic Republic of Congo to make and instrumentality a high-resolution Earth distant sensing abstraction system. Minister Zhaslan Madiyev announced a akin concern statement with the Federal Republic of Nigeria to found a high-resolution Earth reflection outer strategy successful July. Mongolia besides concluded a comparable statement successful 2024.

These agreements collectively correspond what officials are present describing arsenic export projects valued astatine USD 75 million, covering not lone the export of Kazakhstani outer systems but besides grooming and capableness gathering for section specialists, associated improvement of integer solutions, and ongoing method support.

The partnerships show Kazakhstan’s ambition to presumption itself arsenic a planetary abstraction person whilst strengthening its planetary standing. The state presently operates 5 satellites: 3 Earth distant sensing satellites providing imaging of the planet’s disposable surface, and 2 communications satellites liable for vigor awesome retransmission, tv broadcasting, and home communications.
Kazakhstan besides hosts the world’s largest abstraction motorboat facility, Baikonur Cosmodrome, making it a cardinal subordinate successful the planetary abstraction industry.

The caller agreements with Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo physique upon Kazakhstan’s expanding beingness crossed the African continent, wherever the Central Asian federation has been steadily processing strategical partnerships successful abstraction technology.

Kazakhstan’s African abstraction diplomacy tin beryllium traced backmost to 2019 erstwhile Mr Malik Olzhabekov offered to tally a one-month aviator programme for immoderate assemblage of Zimbabwe’s Government’s prime to admit the services offered by outer technologies.

This aboriginal outreach expanded to Egypt, wherever collaboration has flourished crossed aggregate dimensions. In 2019 Kazakhstan expressed involvement successful processing tiny outer programmes with the Egyptian Space Agency. The concern has yielded applicable results, with Egypt already utilising images from Kazakh satellites for assorted applications.

The practice extends to motorboat services, arsenic Egypt’s EgyptSat-A was launched successful 2019 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Beyond method collaboration, Kazakhstan’s expertise has influenced African abstraction governance, with Kazakhstan’s 2012 Space Law serving arsenic a exemplary for Egypt’s draught abstraction legislation. In 2023 Ambassador of Kazakhstan Khairat Lama Sherif met with Egyptian Space Agency CEO Dr Sherif Sedky to sermon adept cognition speech and imaginable areas of collaboration done the Embassy of the State of Kazakhstan successful Cairo.

In 2025, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Rwanda Space Agency CEO Gaspard Twagirayezu visited apical Kazakh abstraction officials astatine the National Space Centre successful Astana.

During this high-level engagement, Rwanda’s delegation received a unrecorded objection of Kazakhstan’s outer power room, showcasing the nation’s real-time outer absorption capabilities.

These partnerships item Kazakhstan’s ...