ASTANA – As part of the country’s regional development programmes, 1.4 million square metres of rental housing is scheduled to be built over the next four years, First Vice Minister of National Economy Marat Kussainov said at a Central Communications Service briefing on April 6.
“In general, the amount of financing for the construction and/or acquisition of residential properties for subsequent rental of the line of Kazakhstan Mortgage Company from all sources will amount to 250 billion tenge [US$1.35 billion],” he said, according to news reports. “As a result, 1.4 million square metres of rental housing will be built and commissioned in 2015 – 2019.”
Kazakhstan’s National Fund is to contribute 150 billion tenge (US$807.6 million) for construction over 2015 – 2016, the vice minister said.
The amount of housing available for rent across the country is being increased as part of ongoing infrastructure enhancement and affordable housing programmes that are part of regional development plans through 2020, he said,.
The National Fund will also contribute 45 billion tenge (US$242.2 million) for projects to protect housing loans and equity contributions in 2015 as part of anti-crisis measures, he said. The additional guarantees are intended to protect citizens from risk and help attract investment to the housing sector.
Sixty percent of the 1.4 million square metres of rental housing would be built in Astana, Almaty, Shymkent and Aktobe, the four designated metropolises in the country, with the remaining 40 percent designated for other regional centres, company towns and rural settlements, per an announcement at a November press conference.
At the same press conference, Kussainov also announced that the National Fund would allocate 66 billion tenge (US$355.3 million) for education infrastructure development, to be split over 2015 and 2016. The funds are to be spent to build schools, kindergartens and university laboratories. Kazakhstan is currently suffering from a lack of secondary schools, and in some areas of the country, schools are operating on three-shift schedules or children study in emergency structures.
“On the whole, taking into account the construction of schools through the National Fund, the national budget and local budgets emergency and three-shift schools will be eliminated by 2018,” Kussainov said.
