In Kazakhstan, 280 billion tenge has been allocated from the budget for the construction and reconstruction of water supply systems

Due to regular gusts, people remain without water for months.

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov criticized the work on long-term construction of drinking water supply during a meeting of the coordination headquarters. Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Marat Karabayev reported that, on behalf of the head of state, it is planned to provide 100% access to clean drinking water to the population by the end of 2025. Today, access to water supply services in cities reaches 98.4%, in villages - 94.5%. The lowest coverage is observed in the cities of Abai, Akmola and Zhambyl regions, as well as in the villages of Akmola, Kostanay and North Kazakhstan regions. According to the government, 280 billion tenge has been allocated from the budget for the implementation of 402 projects for the construction and reconstruction of water supply and sanitation systems this year. In general, by 2025, it is necessary to provide clean drinking water to all residents of the remaining 25 cities and 1,395 villages. In this regard, an appropriate plan has been developed, which takes into account each locality of the republic. Monitoring is being carried out, including in terms of prospecting and exploration work, the development of design and estimate documentation and the progress of construction and installation work. The Prime Minister recalled that at the beginning of May, at a government meeting, it was noted that the process of completing long-term construction on drinking water projects was delayed. At the same time, while the completion dates of the facilities under construction are delayed, the existing infrastructure is falling into disrepair. Residents of the Kargaly residential area in the city of Aktobe complain about the systematic shutdown of cold and hot water. In the Egindykol district of Akmola region, the only non-alternative source of water supply for 12 villages is the worn-out Nurinsky water pipeline, water losses on which reach 70-80%. Residents of these villages remain without water for months due to regular gusts of the water pipeline," Alikhan Smailov said. He also added that in the village of Kishi Bayserke of Talgar district of Almaty region, the water supply is not fully functioning. These are just a few examples out of 9 thousand officially filed complaints from the population for the current year," the Prime Minister stressed. He pointed out other shortcomings on the ground. In particular, the project documentation is not ready in the Abai, Almaty, Atyrau, Zhambyl and Turkestan regions. In addition, despite the need to install water purification modules in 154 villages, akimats of Almaty, West Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda and Turkestan regions have not provided the necessary funds in full. Taking into account the high social significance of water supply issues, each region, especially with the lowest indicators, should strengthen the pace of work. The Ministry of Industry needs to ensure tighter control," Alikhan Smailov said. According to him, the next important block in the ongoing work is to ensure the appropriate digitalization of the water industry. Automation of water supply production processes will ensure more rational water consumption. This will reduce its losses, the accident rate of networks and structures, as well as reduce costs. As part of this direction, an interactive map of natural resources with the "Water Resources" module should be introduced by the end of this year. In addition, all existing installations and hydraulic structures must be equipped with the necessary metering devices," the head of government noted. In conclusion, Alikhan Smailov instructed to work out issues on the prompt completion of all long-term drinking water supply projects, to ensure the development of the necessary project documentation for 115 settlements planned for water supply next year by the end of the year, to complete prospecting and exploration work in 22 settlements, as well as to prepare project documentation for the automation of production processes of water supply and sanitation in 20 cities. Earlier, the Prime Minister instructed to prevent an emergency situation last winter in the upcoming heating season.