The Russian marketplace Wildberries is launching a large-scale program to expand its logistics infrastructure in Kazakhstan. According to official data announced at a government briefing, the company is investing more than 47.7 billion tenge in the construction of new facilities. Kazakhstan's Minister of Trade and Integration, Arman Shakaliyev, confirmed that two major hubs are scheduled to come into operation in the first quarter of 2027.

Scale of construction and geography of facilities

The project involves the construction of warehouse complexes with a total area of 260,000 square meters. This is five times the marketplace's current capacity in the country, where only 46,000 sq. m of leased space is currently used. The geographical distribution of the facilities is as follows:

  • Almaty: The largest logistics hub with an area of 160,000 sq. meters is being built here.
  • Astana: A complex of 100,000 sq. meters is being constructed in the republic's capital.

The total cost of the project is estimated at approximately $101 million. Officially, authorities call this the planned development of the local branch, however, the context of events points to a more complex picture.

Logistics crisis and search for a "safe haven"

The start of construction coincided with a critical situation in Wildberries' logistics within the territory of Russia. Over the past few weeks, Ukrainian Armed Forces drones have struck several major distribution centers in Penza, Ryazan, Vladimir, and Leningrad regions. As a result of the fires, significant stockpiles of goods were destroyed or damaged.

According to sources, the company is urgently looking for free space in CIS countries to diversify risks and protect cargo flows from air attacks. Kazakhstan is being considered as a potential "safe haven" for storing goods. Nevertheless, Minister Shakaliyev clarified that the government has not received official requests from Wildberries management (Tatiana Kim) regarding the placement of warehouses evacuated in an emergency.

Political risks and protection against sanctions

Kazakh authorities are taking a tough stance on the use of the new infrastructure. Behind the scenes of the republic's political leadership, boundaries have been clearly defined: new hubs must not become a tool for bypassing Western sanctions.

Kazakh customs authorities intend to block any cargo subject to control (electronics, chips, dual-use components) upon attempts to re-export them to Russia. This is necessary to prevent the risk of secondary sanctions being imposed on the republic itself.

Losses for Kazakh sellers

The situation is exacerbated by internal dissatisfaction among local businesses. The National Chamber "Atameken" is already recording losses for Kazakh entrepreneurs whose goods burned in the attacked Russian Wildberries hubs. The amount of losses is estimated at more than 1 billion tenge. Compensation has been blocked by the marketplace management's decision on force majeure, which is causing a wave of lawsuits from local sellers.