Japan-based Terra Drone Corporation, one of the leading industrial drone solution providers in the world, is announcing the continuation of its global expansion with investment in a leading UAV company in Kazakhstan, KazUAV.

L-R: Yuhei Nagai, Director, Terra Drone; Dmitriy Ivanov, Director, Terra Drone; Garkushin Eugeniy, CEO, KazUAV; Ruslan Vitvitski, CCO, KazUAV; and Alexander Borovkov, CTO, KazUAV

Established in 2016, KazUAV is a known name in Kazakhstan’s drone industry, having provided GIS services to several government agencies and private companies.

In 2018, at the request of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), KazUAV mapped six airports in the country, totalling a surveyed area of 4 million hectares. The drone company is also registered to provide surveillance drone services to the Kazakhstani special forces.

As part of Terra Drone group, KazUAV will leverage globally-proven technologies to provide myriad drone-based services and solutions in Kazakhstan. These include power line inspection and vegetation management for the energy sector; onshore/offshore infrastructure inspections, tanks inspections, and non-destructive testing for the oil and gas industry; and open-pit and underground mapping services for the mining sector.

According to Toru Tokushige, CEO, Terra Drone Corporation, with 3 per cent of the world’s total oil reserves in Kazakhstan, the production of oil and gas in the country is witnessing a year-on-year increase. “As a leading provider of drone-based solutions for the oil and gas industry, the time is ripe for Terra Drone to gain a footing in Central Asia with this investment,” said Mr Tokushige.

Garkushin Eugeniy, CEO, KazUAV concedes that a goal to become the top drone company in the world is incredibly complex and ambitious.

“We are very pleased that having assessed our results and potential, Terra Drone chose KazUAV as its partner in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” said Mr Eugeniy.

“Thanks to this step, all advanced foreign technologies will be available to our customers in surveying, power generation, construction, oil and gas, and other areas. Kazakhstan will now become part of the global unmanned aircraft community as one of the youngest but largest markets.”

*Article published in the July-September 2019 issue of The Asia Miner