Kazakhstan on Thursday held a launch ceremony for its first gigawatt-scale wind power project under a long-term power purchase agreement, with a Chinese firm among the main contractors.

The 1-gigawatt Mirny wind power project will have Shanghai Electric Group as one of its lead contractors, providing core equipment and integrated solutions.

With Chinese, Kazakh and French companies joining forces to build the wind power and storage complex, the project is expected to take 31 months to complete, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2028.

According to Shanghai Electric, the project is expected to generate about 4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 3.2 million tonnes each year.

Zhu Zhaokai, president of Shanghai Electric, said the project will help strengthen regional energy security, support local industrial growth and meet residential power demand.