Astana airport has introduced electronic boarding passes, Kazakhstan’s civil aviation committee has announced. “This technology is used in the world’s largest airports. Passengers can scan boarding passes with a smartphone and a tablet. A hard copy is not required. If a passenger with hand luggage is checked in for a flight from a computer or mobile device, then a boarding pass with a 2D bar code is sent by email. Previously, passengers received boarding passes and went to a special control desk at the entrance to the departure area… It was necessary to print the boarding pass or get it at the registration desk at the airport,” said the release.
Kazinform reports that 11 municipal solid waste landfills will be built in the Atyrau region. “We adopted a regional programme for solid household waste for 2017 to 2021. At present, 2.3 million tonnes of various wastes are stored in landfills. Last year, 112,000 tonnes of solid waste was collected. Building new landfills is a necessity. Environmental measures are of great importance. Over the past year, 47 activities to reduce harmful environmental impacts were carried out. The total amount of funding is 4.9 billion tenge [US$13 million],” said Akim (Governor) of the region Nurlan Nogayev.
New housing will be built for employed youth in Kazakhstan’s cities. More than 10,500 apartments were built for Zhilstroysberbank depositors and participants of the 7-20-25 programme. “The mortgage programme gave an impetus to housing construction. More than 5,000 citizens got houses. A certificate for a down payment on a preferential mortgage is being introduced for doctors, teachers and police officers. We are taking measures to equip construction sites with engineering communications to reduce costs. Annual funding has increased to 100 billion tenge [US$265 million],” said Vice Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Kairbek Uskenbayev.
Some 120 industrial projects worth 1.1 trillion tenge (US$3 billion) will be commissioned this year as part of the national industrialisation programme, according to Primeminister.kz. This will create 20,000 work positions. The projects include a ferrosilicon plant in the Karaganda region and a ceramic granite and ceramic tile plant in the Aktobe region. “Overall, more than 1,250 projects have been implemented worth 7.9 trillion tenge [US$21 billion] and 120,000 jobs have been created. Last year, more than 100 projects worth 1.3 trillion tenge [US$3 billion] were launched and more than 13,000 jobs were created,” said Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Zhenis Kassymbek.
Iranian company Faradid Meehan will invest in a $10-million brick plant in the Turkestan region, the region’s press service has announced. “The plant will be built in the industrial zone in the Boraldai district of the Baidibek region. Investors intend to produce seven types of bricks and create more than 200 jobs. The enterprise will produce 4 to 5 million bricks per month and up to 70 million per year. The company will allocate an additional $10 million and build 200 cottages,” reads the release.
A microfinance organisation will support 200 start-up projects in the Karaganda region. The region has seen an increase in the number of small and medium-sized enterprises. Their production grew by more than 21 percent and jobs increased by 6.4 percent. The training of start-up entrepreneurs in the Business School and Bastau Business projects will also continue. The region will open business incubators at the urban and rural colleges with youth entrepreneurship courses. The best graduates will receive support to open their business. “The positive indicators have been achieved due to the expansion of micro-lending as part of the entrepreneurship programme. Some 1,245 microloans were issued in 2018. This year, 1.5 billion tenge [US$4 million] will be allocated to reduce interest rates of second-tier banks. The activities of the local executive bodies are assessed by the development of small and medium businesses,” said head of the regional Entrepreneurship Department Tatiana Ablayeva.
