Seventy-five percent of the construction of KazMunayGas’ (KMG) Saryarka gas pipeline was completed as of Aug. 16, which is 796.6 kilometres of the pipeline, reports the KMG press service. The latest welding technology is used in the pipeline’s construction by more than 2,000 construction workers, making it possible to lay a six-kilometre pipe with an 820-millimetre diameter a day. Construction will be completed by the year’s end, after which the akimats (regional and city administrations) will provide a gas supply to Kazakhstan’s regions and cities. The pipeline is to improve the country’s energy security.
Kazakh airline Air Astana will transfer its Moscow flights from Nur-Sultan and Almaty to Domodedovo Airport starting Oct. 24, reports the airline’s press service. The flight transfers are the result of a code-sharing agreement with Russia’s S7 Airlines and will be carried out without schedule interruptions. Air Astana launched Moscow flights from Nur-Sultan and Almaty in September 2002 and has transported more than 3.5 million passengers and 26,000 tonnes of cargo on these flights since then. There are 11 and 14 weekly Air Astana flights from Nur-Sultan and Almaty to Moscow during the winter, respectively, and 12 and 16 weekly flights from Nur-Sultan and Almaty to Moscow during the summer, respectively.
Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund’s net income increased 78 percent in January-March compared to the same period last year, reports its press service. The January-March net income per stockholder’s equity was 291 billion tenge (US$753.36 million). The factors contributing to net income growth were an “increase in the volume and sales price of crude oil and gas exports and revenue growth from telecommunications services, refined gold and joint ventures.”
KMG released Aug. 22 its financial results for the first half of the year. In this time period, revenue increased 1.4 percent year-on-year to 3.4 billion tenge (US$8.8 million), which is attributed to an increase in gas export sales volume and the tenge’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar. Gas exports to China increased 46.7 percent year-on-year to 340 billion tenge (US$880.21 million). Operating profit increased 38.2 percent year-on-year to 399 billion tenge (US$1.93 billion), and net profit increased 73 percent year-on-year to 622 billion tenge (US$1.61 billion). Gross debt decreased 3.8 percent year-on-year to four billion tenge (US$10.36 million). Capital expenditures decreased 5.8 percent to 167 billion tenge (US$432.34 million), given the recent completion of the modernisation programme for Kazakhstan’s refineries.
One hundred and twenty employers presented more than 2,000 vacancies at an Aug. 15 citywide job fair in the capital, reports the city akimat. The event was organised by the akimat and its employment centre and was attended by more than 1,000 job seekers. More than 4,527 people found employment through the capital’s employment centre since January, of which 1,722 were permanent jobs.
The Turkestan Region leads in implementing Kazakhstan’s Economy of Simple Things programme with 206 projects worth 64.2 billion tenge (US$166.15 million) in operation, reports its akimat. Another 18 projects worth 927 million tenge (US$2.4 million) were submitted for consideration to the akimat’s project office. The Economy of Simple Things programme was launched in March and received 600 billion tenge (US$1.55 billion) for the development of the domestic production of goods and services that are consumed daily. Twenty billion tenge (US$51.76 million) will be allocated to agriculture and 400 billion tenge (US$1.04 billion) for supporting the processing industry and service sector. The programme will create 16,000 jobs in Kazakhstan by 2025.
