Opening the meeting with the public of the Mangistau region, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev focused on the unique features of the region and noted that the region has great potential for development and prosperity. According to the president, over the years of independence, the population of the region has increased by 2.5 times.
According to the head of state, one of the priorities for the development of the region should be the modernization of industry and business. One of the main tasks of the state at the current stage is the real diversification of the national economy. It is necessary to create production facilities that produce finished products of deep processing.
“For 2023-2026, it is planned to implement 29 projects worth more than one trillion tenge, which will create more than 3 thousand permanent jobs. I instruct the Government and the akimat to ensure the timely completion of all planned projects. The region has great potential in the field of entrepreneurship development. In recent years, the share of small and medium-sized businesses in the gross regional product has reached 32%. Almost 140 thousand people are employed in this area. I am glad that the number of entrepreneurs in the manufacturing sector, tourism, trade, as well as in education and medicine is growing. I think this is evidence that the region's economy has embarked on the path of diversification. An additional impetus to the development of SMEs in the region can be given by the more active use of the Men-Kasipkermin (I am an Entrepreneur) tool,” the head of state said.
The next important task Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev called the increase of transport, logistics and investment potential. According to him, the Mangistau region, due to its favorable geographical position, has a huge potential to become a transport and transit hub of global importance.
“The port city of Aktau is rightfully considered the sea gate of Kazakhstan. Against the backdrop of reformatting global supply chains, the role of the Caspian Sea has increased dramatically. We plan to implement a number of measures aimed at attracting investments in the development of port infrastructure, the creation of container and transport and logistics hubs. Given the current situation on world markets, the further development of the Trans-Caspian route is of particular importance. On this issue, we have mutual understanding with partner countries,” said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Separately, the president dwelled on the problem of the quality of roads. Recalling the constant complaints of local residents about the quality of regional roads, he said that improving the quality of roads requires the closest attention. In particular, the head of state pointed out that the work on the construction of the Beineu-Shalkar highway is going very slowly, and instructed the Government to expedite the preparation of all documents for the start of the construction of this road. In addition, the Government, together with the akimat, was instructed to start repairing the Aktau-Fort-Shevchenko, Taushyk-Shetpe roads next year.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that in terms of investments, volume of production and taxes paid, the Aktau Sea Port FEZ is among the top three in the republic. He also said that he had set the task of providing undeveloped land plots in special economic zones with infrastructure facilities.
“I believe that the Government needs to extend the terms of the functioning of special economic zones. One of the successful examples of investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and foreign partners is the project to create a center for the production of "green" hydrogen. Last week, during the official visit of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, Kazakhstan and the German-Swedish company signed an appropriate investment agreement. The investor plans to organize the production of "green" hydrogen in the Mangistau region. It is also planned to build a desalination plant with a capacity of 255 thousand cubic meters per day, a renewable energy station for 40 gigawatts. The implementation of this project will create about 3,500 jobs during the construction period and 1,800 new permanent jobs after the facility is put into operation. Domestic personnel will be prepared and trained, infrastructure will be built, and the investor will fulfill its social obligations,” the president said.
Further, the head of state dwelled on the issues of modernization of the water supply system and engineering infrastructure of the region, development of the cities of Aktau and Zhanaozen.
He said that the task was set to provide all cities and villages of the region with clean drinking water within five years. Until the end of this year, 12 villages will be provided with centralized water supply. Until 2025, it is planned to implement 9 water desalination projects, 4 projects for the construction and reconstruction of main water pipelines in the region.
According to the President, there are projects in the region, the implementation of which should be started immediately. Among them - the construction of a desalination plant in the village of Kenderli and the reconstruction of the main water pipeline Astrakhan - Mangyshlak, put into operation 33 years ago. In addition, the dynamic development of the region and high population growth rates acutely raise the issue of upgrading engineering networks, while today the engineering networks of the city of Aktau are worn out by 75%. In this regard, the head of state instructed the Government to allocate the necessary funds for the reconstruction of engineering networks. Then he dwelled on the issues of further development of the regional center.
“We set the task to develop Aktau as one of the main centers of tourism in our country. Therefore, the architectural appearance of the city, lying on the seashore, should be attractive and modern. It is necessary to solve the problem of dilapidated houses in the regional center. There are 280 of them here. I instruct the Government to develop a special program for the modernization of housing in the city of Aktau. The integrated development of Zhanaozen requires special attention. Over 580 billion tenge has been allocated to solve its problems. For the city, these are significant funds that need to be used wisely,” the president stressed.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev focused on the development of education and healthcare, as well as support for young people. He noted that there is a high shortage of places in kindergartens - about 10 thousand children are in the queue. The situation is similar with schools. The region lacks 13,000 student places; there are emergency and three-shift schools.
According to the President, it is necessary to use the possibilities of public-private partnership for the construction of kindergartens. He also said that in the next three years, 21 schools will be built in the Mangystau region within the framework of the Comfortable School National Project. The head of state drew attention to the fact that this is not enough, and called for the wider use of business opportunities in this work.
Particular attention, according to the head of state, should be paid to the training of professional personnel in demand in the region. According to him, more than 73,000 grants have been allocated for education in universities for the current academic year. In addition, an additional 10,000 targeted educational grants were provided for applicants from the western regions of the country, 6,000 of which were intended for the Mangistau region.
“Of these grants, only a quarter was disbursed. This is unacceptable. At the same time, there is still a high need for qualified specialists in the region. All this speaks of the weak career guidance activities of universities and the relevant ministry. Information work with applicants and their parents was not properly carried out. I instruct the Ministry of Science and Higher Education to conduct information and explanatory work on targeted educational grants at the proper level. It must be said that grants for training for local youth, the lack of specialists, in the long run, and the development of the whole region are all closely related problems. Therefore, the akim of the region needs to be very careful in their consideration,” the president said.
Along with this, the head of state noted the priority of creating conditions and incentives for talented and active youth to realize their potential. He believes that local youth need to travel to other regions, including Almaty and Astana, to improve their skills or find employment. You need to expand your horizons, you can not be limited only to your area.
Another important area requiring attention, according to the President, is the development of the healthcare system. He said that the construction of a central hospital in the Munailinsky district had begun. Particular attention should be paid to the equipment of ambulance crews, the condition of ambulance vehicles. In the regional center there is a need to build a multidisciplinary hospital and a new ambulance station.
According to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the agro-industrial sector is one of the strategic priorities for the economic development of our country. In this context, the task was set to increase the potential of agriculture and the development of the food market in the Mangistau region.
“We have all the necessary potential for this. First of all, we must provide our own country with high-quality and affordable food. This issue is of particular importance in the Mangistau region. Every year food is imported here in the amount of 100 million dollars. The high dependence on external supplies affects the prices of products, the growth of which has already exceeded 20% since the beginning of the year. In many respects, this situation is connected with the geographical features of the region and problems in logistics. At the same time, Mangystau acts as a key center in the transport and transit strategy of Kazakhstan. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the possibilities for the export and import of food products,” the President said.
In the Mangistau region, annually up to 75% of all necessary feed is imported from other regions of the country. Therefore, the provision of feed is a serious problem for the region. The head of state believes that in order to reduce the cost of livestock products in the region, it is necessary to provide preferential tariffs for the transportation of feed from other regions and expand the local feed base.
Along with this, the head of state dwelled on the development of tourism and the environmental situation in the region. According to him, tourism is becoming a significant factor in the development of the economy all over the world. In this regard, great potential opens up for Mangistau.
“We should think about the prospect of implementing international projects with the participation of the Caspian states, in particular, such an interesting area as cruise tourism. In addition to the beautiful beaches, Mangistau is also famous for its sacred places and underground mosques of Beket-ata, Shopan-ata, Shakpak-ata and others. Along with this, attention should be paid to historical and cultural reserves and museums,” the president believes.
Speaking about the serious environmental problems of Mangistau, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called the preservation of the ecological balance and biodiversity of the Caspian Sea the most important task.
“Today, cases of mass death of seals and fish are increasingly being recorded. Human activities and changes in environmental conditions lead to such phenomena. Seals are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. The problem of conservation and restoration of the abundance of this species is under my personal control. In the summer, I visited the Central Asian Institute for Ecological Research, which is actively engaged in studying the reasons for the decline in the number of seals. This important issue requires a comprehensive scientific approach. Earlier, it was planned to create state nature reserves in the Mangistau region to preserve the population of the Caspian seal. The Ministry of Ecology needs to speed up this work and take all the necessary decisions,” the head of state stressed.
In addition, the President also touched upon such important issues as the suppression of illegal fishing, as well as the need to study the causes and consequences of the shallowing of the Caspian Sea. In this context, he proposed the creation of a state scientific institute, which will be engaged in the research of the Caspian Sea.
The head of state in his speech focused on the need to develop a culture of political responsibility. Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev thanked all Mangistau residents for solving emerging problems through negotiations and dialogue.
“You showed a vivid example of responsibility for the fate of the country during the events of Tragic January. Here in those days it was possible to avoid human casualties. Government and public institutions were not attacked. This is a wonderful example of respect for one's country. Of course, human life is above all. Any serious problem can be solved peacefully. We adhere to this principle both in domestic and foreign policy,” the President said.
According to the head of state, accidents at the ArcelorMittal Temirtau enterprise have become frequent, one might say, systemic, and, despite repeated warnings and instructions from state bodies, the situation is not improving.
“It is necessary to conduct a comprehensive audit of the enterprise, including for compliance with labor safety requirements and all environmental standards. It is important to determine whether the owner's investment in maintaining the technical condition of the plant and its modernization is sufficient. Perhaps an international company should be involved in this work, which will give an objective assessment of the state of affairs at the plant. Everything must be done to ensure that such tragedies do not happen again. The health and life of our citizens is the most important thing,” the President stressed.
At the end of the event, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev presented state awards to a number of citizens for their significant achievements and special contribution to the development of the country.
The order "Parasat" was awarded to the labor veteran Kuzembay Yergaliyev, the order "Kurmet" was awarded to the teacher of KSU "Specialized IT Lyceum" Lyudmila Ryabova. The order "Enbek danky" of the 3rd degree was awarded to the nurse of the Senek outpatient clinic of the State Enterprise "Karakiyan Central District Hospital" Zhanimgul Dyusembayeva and the repairman of the State Enterprise "Ozen Zhylu" Seyidali Kiyakbaev. Feruza Karakesekova, master of Akzhol+K LLP, was awarded the medal "Eren Enbegi Ushin".
By the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda
