The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, fulfilled a meeting on further social and economic development of Almaty, being on a working visit to the city.

Reports on the current situation, measures taken and plans for the development of industry, transport infrastructure, housing and utilities, medical system, education and other areas were made by the Akim of Almaty Yerbolat Dossayev, the Ministers of Industry Marat Karabayev and Healthcare Azhar Giniyat, as well as Deputy Ministers of National Economy Bauyrzhan Omarbekov, Education Yedil Ospan, Culture and Sports Sarsen Kuranbek.

In his speech the Prime Minister pointed out that over the last 10 years the growth rate of wages in Almaty remains lower than the average wage in the country. In this regard, he noted the need to reverse this trend.

"It is necessary to ensure annual growth of real money incomes of Almaty residents. This is a complex work. First of all, we should focus on creating new high-paying jobs and maintaining high dynamics of attracting investments," Alikhan Smailov said. 

According to him, the work on increasing incomes of the population is directly linked with the implementation of measures to curb inflation. Therefore, it is necessary to closely monitor pricing in the markets, including Altyn Orda, since the activities of local resellers affect the cost of food and other goods not only in the city, but also throughout the country.

The Prime Minister added that in parallel the issue of creating additional trading areas in the eastern and northern parts of the Almaty agglomeration should be worked out to develop competition, as well as to ensure the effective work of the regional commission to investigate intermediary schemes. 

Turning to the issue of development of engineering infrastructure, the Head of the Government noted its high wear and tear: water supply networks are 56%, sewerage 57%, and electricity networks 60%. According to him, to reduce this figure it is necessary to reconstruct more than 100 km of water supply, more than 70 km of sewerage and about 120 km of electrical networks annually. At the same time it is required to ensure the construction of new water sources in the territories annexed to the city.

Alikhan Smailov also touched on the development of the education and health care systems. Thus, within the National project "Comfortable School" it is planned to build 22 schools in the city for 37,000 seats, which will significantly reduce their shortage. In addition, the akimat was commissioned to ensure the timely opening of facilities already under construction, and to work with the Ministry of Finance on the issue of using the extra-budgetary fund, created at the expense of corrupt officials, for the construction of additional educational institutions.

Regarding the medical system, Alikhan Smailov pointed out that about 2.2 million people are attached to the outpatient and polyclinic organizations of the city, which puts a heavy load on them. In this regard, he pointed out that the development of primary health care should be one of the priorities for the Almaty agglomeration, and instructed the Ministry of Health in the 1st quarter to complete the updating of standards in this area, taking into account best practices.

Prime Minister paid special attention to seismic safety. According to him, the tragedy that occurred in Turkey and Syria should be a big lesson for the country, especially for Almaty.

He noted that the last time the certification of facilities in the city was carried out in 2017 and 2018. In this regard, the Ministry of Emergency Situations together with the akimat of the city should as soon as possible conduct an audit and implement effective measures to strengthen seismic safety.

"It is necessary to use the world experience of these issues, not only in Almaty, but also in all other regions of the republic, potentially prone to earthquakes. The authorized state bodies should promptly consider the issue of legislative tightening of previously abolished processes of design, construction, and control," Alikhan Smailov said.

In general, the Prime Minister drew attention to the necessity of improvement of the town planning policy in the city, which is especially important against the background of discussion and approval of the Draft Master Plan of Almaty until 2040.

"The Akimat needs to take into account the mistakes made during the construction of the city for the development of social, engineering and transport infrastructure. Also, we need to pay special attention to the height and density of development with preservation of the historical and cultural heritage," he stressed. 

In conclusion, the Head of Government stressed the importance of comprehensive implementation of measures to solve environmental problems of the city and the rapid finalization of the development plan of the Almaty agglomeration.