Government injects billions into better life for Kazakhstanis

03.08.2022

Kazakhstan has mastered only 30% of the budget allocated for the national project for the development of regions. Minister of National Economy Alibek Kuantyrov reported on the implementation of the national project Strong regions as the driver of the country's development, which takes place in two directions: equal access to basic services and ensuring transport connectivity. Four targets, 20 indicators and 96 activities have been identified.

"The total amount of funding for the activities of the national project for 2022 amounted to 1.8 trillion tenge, of which extra-budgetary funds 709 billion tenge. At the same time, 528 billion tenge, or 30%, was disbursed as of August 1," he said.

In addition, within the framework of the national project, the following activities are assigned to the ministry: modernisation of villages within the framework of the Auyl El Besigi project. According to Kuantirov, this year, 128 billion tenge has been allocated from the national budget for the implementation of more than 1,000 projects in 576 villages, of which 91 projects in the housing and communal services sector, 454 in the field of social infrastructure and 511 projects in transport infrastructure.

"As of August 1, administrations disbursed 52.2 billion tenge, or 40.8% of the annual plan. The smallest disbursement of funds is noted in the Karaganda region," the minister specified.

Under the project With a diploma to the village this year, 20 billion tenge was allocated from the national budget for the purchase of housing for 4.3 thousand specialists. As of August 1, he said, 2,000 specialists received housing.

"In order to coordinate and take new measures for the development of rural areas, the department is working on the development of a concept for the development of rural areas. The concept will contain comprehensive measures to develop infrastructure, entrepreneurship, the agro-industrial complex, as well as to increase human resources, increase the population's access to the Internet and a number of others The document will provide target parameters for each of the above areas with the definition of responsible government agencies for them," he said.

For the development of the infrastructure of mono and small towns in 2022, 25.8 billion tenge was allocated for the implementation of 57 projects in 28 mono and small towns, Kuantirov cited the figures. At the beginning of August, administrations disbursed 9.2 billion tenge, or 35.8% of the annual plan. The smallest disbursement of funds was recorded in the Pavlodar and Almaty regions.

"The Ministry is developing an appropriate roadmap. It provides for the development of a unified list of state support measures for single-industry towns, comprehensive plans for socio-economic development, the creation of industrial zones and priority development areas, etc. In general, the activities of the national project Strong regions as the driver of the country's development are being implemented in accordance with the approved schedule and are under constant control of the ministry,” the head of the department stressed.

In turn, Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Kairbek Uskenbayev said that 88 measures were assigned to the department within the framework of the national project, aimed at achieving 14 indicators for four key tasks (integrated development of infrastructure, comfortable housing, development of internal transport connectivity and increasing the connectivity of territories).

"In 2021, three indicators were not achieved. The first, on the commissioning of 163.1 thousand dwellings (in fact 151.2 thousand dwellings). The second, on the growth in the volume of transit through the territory of Kazakhstan. Failure to achieve the planned value of 25.3 million tonnes (in fact 23.8 million tonnes) is associated with the introduction of severe sanitary restrictions by China, which reduced the capacity of border rail crossings by half. Taking into account the fact that the main share of transit cargo falls on China, and this is about 70% of the total volume of transit traffic, or more than 15.4 million tonnes, the planned value was not reached," the minister explained.

Third, according to him, with the plan to increase container traffic in the trans-Caspian direction to 45,000 TEUs, the actual execution amounted to about 41,000 TEUs. The ministry noted that the PRC introduced restrictive measures for the acceptance and transfer of trains, in particular, sanitisation. In this connection, the acceptance and transfer of trains at the border with China was reduced from 18 to 12 pairs of trains, which led to an increase in idle trains.

"This year, as of early August, 650.1 billion tenge was allocated for the implementation of the national project, of which the national budget is 440.4 billion tenge, extra-budgetary funds at 155.8 billion tenge and the local budget at 53.9 billion tenge. The entire budget mastered in full according to the schedule," Uskenbaev reported.

In particular, 79.3 billion tenge, or 99% of the plan, was disbursed under the comprehensive development of infrastructure task. Financing provided: construction and reconstruction of water supply and sanitation systems in urban and rural areas (total 74.8 billion tenge), installation of integrated block-modules for water treatment in rural areas (223 million tenge), construction and reconstruction of sewerage and treatment facilities in cities (2.2 billion tenge) and storm sewers and ditches (total 2 billion tenge).

Under the comfortable housing task, 249.8 billion tenge was disbursed, aimed at providing a budget loan from Otbasy Bank for the subsequent issuance of loans at 2% (51 billion tenge), development and improvement of engineering and communication infrastructure in housing development areas (38.8 billion tenge), construction (acquisition) of housing by administrations of communal housing stock (8.4 billion tenge), subsidizing part of the payment for rented housing for socially vulnerable segments of the population (total 5.5 billion), financing from extra-budgetary funds for the construction of social credit housing (142 billion tenge).

Under the task for development of the internal transport network, 301.2 billion tenge was disbursed. They are aimed at the construction, reconstruction and repair of roads of national (148.9 billion tenge) and local significance.

Under the task of increasing the connectivity of territories, 19.2 billion tenge was disbursed, aimed at: building 40 vessels of the technical fleet (4.3 billion tenge), overhauling three shipping locks (1.1 billion tenge).

"By the end of this year, 18.6 million people will have access to water supply services, the level of wastewater treatment in cities will be increased to 77.5%, the provision of common house metres for heat and water will be increased to 76%. The volume of housing commissioned will be 15.1 million square metres (137.7 thousand dwellings)," the head of the department stressed.

In addition, by the end of the year, the quality indicator of roads in the normative state will be increased to 91% for the national network, and up to 85% for the local network, he promised.

"The ground infrastructure of airports in the cities of Shymkent and Kostanay will be modernised. Also this year, work has begun on the construction of a new passenger terminal at Almaty airport. Depreciation of the technical fleet will be reduced to 66%. All planned values will be fulfilled by the end of this year," he concluded. Uskenbaev.

Earlier it was reported which regions residents began to save on products the most.

By Jamilya Karimova for LS (Kazakhstan).