Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting on development of Almaty.
In his speech, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recalled that the key indicators in the activities of akims are attracting investment, creating new jobs, developing infrastructure, providing support to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as protecting the environment.
"The role of Almaty is very important. A lot of work is being done in the city, which can serve as an example for other regions. However, one should not forget that further development of the city, improving the welfare of the population, the quality of life should always remain a priority," the Head of State emphasized.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev set a number of specific tasks for development of the southern capital.
The first is the high growth rates of the economy of Almaty through development of business and innovations. As an example, he cited the industrial zone of the city, where 33 companies are registered and over 156 billion tenge are invested. The head of state drew attention to the fact that within 7 years since the creation of this zone, only 6 new enterprises have been commissioned, and only 1 small plant has been launched this year.
In this regard, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recommended that the city mayor attracts new projects to the industrial zone, primarily high-tech and export-oriented ones.
The President considers the development of innovations and introduction of new developments promising, given the fact that the country's leading universities are located in the city, and there is good scientific and personnel potential. At the same time, he pointed out the absence of serious developments in this area and tasked to use the potential of the FEZ "Park of Innovative Technologies".
The head of state also called for stepping up efforts to improve the business climate and increase the investment attractiveness of the city.
The President noted the importance of solving problems that impede the development of small and medium-sized businesses.
“I must admit that the very fact of rising food prices is an obvious indicator of the vulnerability of our economy. The government has developed additional measures to create new points of economic growth. I approved these measures at a special meeting. It is urgent to implement them," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed.
Another priority is the improvement of the social situation of the city residents. The President focused on the problem of unemployment, the need to improve medical services, as well as the shortage of places in secondary schools and kindergartens.
The Head of State also talked on the issues of ensuring a high quality of life and infrastructural development of the city.
“We consider Almaty as an international center of business and tourism, therefore, all work to improve the quality of life of citizens should be guided by international standards. The main thing is that citizens should feel comfortable to live in the city. This depends on a number of factors - the presence of a road to the house, a step accessibility of social infrastructure, provision of high-quality drinking water, gas, uninterrupted power supply and heating,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
The President also instructed the akimat to solve problems with street lighting, inadequate yards, and operation of the irrigation system.
Noting the successes in the development of the transport infrastructure of the city, the Head of State pointed to a number of problematic issues in this area.
“Every day, more than 200 thousand cars drive into the city from Kaskelen, Kapshagay, Talgar and through the Kuldzhinsky highway. This creates traffic jams at the entrance to Almaty, especially during rush hours. The problem needs to be solved not only by reconstruction and expansion of roads, but also through an increase in the number of metro lines and development of public transport connecting the city and surrounding areas," said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The President recalled that Almaty is located in a seismically active zone.
"The locals remember the last mudflow well. And this rightly worries them. It is necessary to begin the construction of dams in the Aksai and Ayusay gorges, ensuring complete mudflow safety in the city," the Head of State said.
During the meeting, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid much attention to the state of the city’s ecology and air quality. He instructed to complete the transfer of public transport to gas and other environmentally friendly fuels, to gasify the private sector of the city and the suburban area, to take control over the illegal cutting of trees, apple orchards, as well as to intensify the work on greening the city and reviving the Almaty Oporto apples.
In his speech, the President put an end to the construction of a ski resort in Kok-Zhailau.
“In order not to return to this issue every time, I forbid to engage in this project. Moreover, all professional ecologists are against it,” the Head of State said.
Speaking about the tourism potential of the metropolis, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that Almaty has great potential for development of tourism products of the highest level. This applies to both mountain, cultural, ethnographic, and business tourism. He recalled that in the State Program for Tourism Industry Development until 2025, the Mountain cluster of the Almaty region was defined as a priority.
"I instruct the Government and the city akimat to begin implementing the master plan of mountain locations. This project can attract more than $ 2 billion in investments and create at least 30 thousand jobs. I draw attention to the fact that all decisions must be made taking into account the opinion of the population," - said the President.
The head of state also focused on ensuring public safety.
"Unfortunately, Almaty ranks first in the country in terms of crime. A large proportion is the minor offenses - thefts and hooliganism. This is one of the main problems that concern the city’s population," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed.
Summing up his speech, the President noted that, thanks to the support of Elbasy, Almaty had achieved high indicators in its development, and called for mobilizing efforts to achieve the goals.
First Deputy Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, Almaty mayor Bakytzhan Sagintayev, assistant to the President Aida Balaeva, as well as Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Beibut Atamkulov made reports at the meeting.
By Laura Tusupbekova for Kazakhstanskaya Pravda.
