At a press conference in the Government, Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev spoke about the implementation of the Head of State’s instructions, focusing on strategic initiatives for regional development, infrastructure modernization, water resources management, and enhancing the readiness of the Ministry for Emergency Situations (MES).

In particular, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that the Government has approved the Concept for Regional Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2025–2030, aimed at improving quality of life and unlocking the economic potential of the regions. Special attention is given to eliminating disparities in access to social, engineering, and transport facilities, as well as prioritizing funding for the most disadvantaged regions.

New measures have also been developed for the development of single-industry towns, including the signing of long-term contracts, creation of industrial zones, and promotion of small and medium-sized businesses.

For rural development, the “Auy̆l Amanaty” and “Auy̆l – El Besigi” programs are being implemented in parallel. This year, 50 billion tenge has been allocated under the Auy̆l Amanaty project, with a further 450 billion tenge planned for 2026–2028. These funds will finance more than 25,000 projects and create over 100,000 jobs.

“In his Address to the Nation, the Head of State gave special attention to solving urgent infrastructure problems. For these purposes, in December last year, the National Project for the Modernization of the Energy and Utilities Sectors was approved. On July 17, the Head of State signed the corresponding law, which entered into force on July 29. More than 13 trillion tenge in investments are planned over five or more years to repair and build 86,000 km of utility networks and commission additional generation sources with a capacity of 7.3 GW. Funding will come from four sources: domestic and international financial institutions, banks, budgetary funds, and shareholders’ funds,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

Currently, pilot projects are already being implemented in Kazakhstan, involving 35 natural monopoly entities. By the end of the year, it is planned that six of them will reduce network wear to 40%. This year, about 150 billion tenge is being invested to repair 8,500 km of networks and replace more than 42,000 units of equipment.

In 2026, about 1 trillion tenge in investments is planned to repair 9,700 km of networks and replace 46,000 units of equipment. To enhance domestic value, 2,786 product items worth 2.1 trillion tenge have been identified, and a pool of 220 domestic manufacturers has been formed for their production.

“Developing domestic manufacturers will not only reduce import dependence but also create additional jobs and increase tax revenues to the budget,” Kanat Bozumbayev stressed.

The project’s digitalization will be supported by procurement platforms and the SMART TURMYS utilities information system. A website and contact center are being created to inform the public.

Regarding the development of the water sector, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that in accordance with the President’s instructions, a new Water Code was adopted in Kazakhstan, which entered into force on June 10.

Currently, modernization of more than 6,000 km of canals is underway, of which 962 km will be commissioned in 2025, enabling irrigation of about 200,000 hectares. By the end of the year, the reconstruction and construction of several reservoirs, including Karakuis in Turkistan region, will be completed. Plans include inspecting 105 hydraulic structures and commissioning 10 water supply projects in six regions.

This spring, 16.9 billion m³ of water was delivered to reservoirs. In 2024–2025, about 5 billion m³ of water was directed to the Northern Aral, increasing its volume to 24.4 billion m³.

“As part of the Head of State’s task to implement water-saving technologies on up to 150,000 hectares annually, conditions have been created to incentivize farmers to adopt water-saving technologies. Thus, the total area of land using water-saving technologies will reach 912,000 hectares by the end of 2027. The share of cost reimbursement for farmers has been increased from 50% to 80% for infrastructure development, purchase, and installation of water-saving technologies. The tariff for excessive use of irrigation water has been increased by 20%, and a differentiated subsidy rate has been introduced depending on the tariff,” Kanat Bozumbayev said.

The Deputy Prime Minister also spoke separately about the work of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Since the beginning of the year, the agency has carried out over 60,000 deployments, rescuing more than 10,000 people. Forest management video surveillance systems have been connected to the MES Situation Center for round-the-clock fire monitoring. New equipment and machinery, including aircraft, are being procured. In addition, in June, amendments were made to the Civil Protection Law aimed at strengthening fire and industrial safety requirements, as well as introducing a fire insurance mechanism.

#Energy #Housing and Utilities #Infrastructural development #Kanat Bozumbayev #Press Conference

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