Dec. 4, 2018, at a press conference following a meeting of the Government, Markhabat Zhayymbetov, the chairman of the Committee for Construction, Housing and Communal Services of the Ministry for Investments and Development, spoke about the benefits of digitization in construction and public utilities sector.

As Zhayymbetov noted, in the near future, the construction work register, the act of hidden works, the technical supervision, which are on paper today, will become unnecessary. The Ministry for Investments and Development has developed a single digital portal under the working title “Ui Qurylys.” This portal will record information from digging pits to taking objects into operation. All information will be stored in photo and video format. In addition, according to him, it will be possible to control the Kazakhstani content in construction: what materials are imported, what kind of production.

“This will all ensure the transparency of the industry. We hope that there will be a very big reform. All parties involved: the customer, the contractor, the author, technical supervision, government agencies will be involved in this area. We will improve the quality of work in construction, and greater openness will appear in this area,” said Zhayymbetov.

The chairmen also announced the creation of the e-SHANYRAQ information system, where the personal accounts of residents, natural monopolies, akimats and central executive bodies will be located.

“All of us are residents of multi-storey housing, but we do not know what we are paying for. How much for the janitor, electrician, plumbing, etc. To ensure transparency in utilities, we created this application. Via smartphone you can vote, make decisions. For example, the elementary question of payment for the elevator. Through the online voting system, you can decide whether it should be card or monthly,” the committee chairman noted.

In addition, Zhayymbetov reported on the benefits that the population will receive from the device. According to him, the basis of digitalization is full-fledged installation of devices.

“When we install common house heat meters, we save 36%, and when automatic heat points are installed, we save up to 50-60%. For example, if a person pays 10 thousand tenge for heating, after the installation of these devices will pay 3-5 thousand tenge. On a national scale, we can save 32.5 billion tenge per year, over a period of 5 years — 162 billion tenge,” said Zhayymbetov.