ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov instructed to speed up the reconstruction of the Aktobe-Karabutak-Ulgaisyn highway, a part of the Western Europe – Western China International Road Corridor, during his working visit to the Aktobe Region on Aug. 10, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
A new string of a gas pipeline branch to Aktobe city from the Bukhara-Ural main gas pipeline has begun to resolve the issue of growing volume of gas consumption. Photo credit: primeminister.kz. Click to see the map in full size. The map is designed by The Astana Times.
Reconstruction of the Aktobe-Karabutak-Ulgaisyn highway
According to Smailov, this will significantly improve the quality of the roadway and increase its capacity. An area of 262 kilometers will be widened from the current two lanes to four, and 202 culverts, 23 cattle roads, 18 bridges, and 12 junctions will be built and reconstructed.
Alikhan Smailov visits a sludge processing plant of the Kazchrome mining company’s Donskoy Mining and Processing Plant. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.
The highway is also part of the transit corridor from southern Kazakhstan to Russia. This section undergoes heavy traffic intensity of about 16,000 vehicles per day, including 4,000 trucks, and its condition today causes a lot of complaints.
The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development to improve the quality of the roadway, drawing attention to local roads as well.
Construction of a new line of the Bukhara-Ural main gas pipeline
Aktobe and its adjacent territories are supplied with gas through three strings of the Bukhara-Ural and Zhanazhol-Aktobe trunk pipelines.
The Prime Minister meets with creative youth of the region. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.
As stated by Smailov, the construction of a new string of gas pipeline branches to Aktobe from the Bukhara-Ural main gas pipeline has begun to resolve the growing volume of gas consumption and the load on the existing infrastructure.
The large-scale project valued at 43.4 billion tenge ($97.1 million) will be launched in 2024. The 165-kilometers-long main gas pipeline with a capacity of 526,000 cubic meters per hour aims to meet the city’s growing needs and implement 17 major investment projects worth over three trillion tenge ($6.7 billion).
Improving the environmental well-being of the Aktobe Region
Smailov visited a unique sludge processing plant of the Kazchrome mining company’s Donskoy Mining and Processing Plant, which opened in the Chromtau District.
The new enterprise will process 1.7 million tons of constantly generated waste from existing production facilities and previously accumulated sludge per year.
According to Yeraly Tugzhanov, the Akim (governor) of the Aktobe Region, the plant is one of the main projects of a large-scale waste sludge processing program to increase production efficiency and improve the region’s environmental well-being.
Smailov stressed the importance of the project, noting that the enterprise will contribute to improving the local environment.
“The most important thing is that after processing, the tailings should be properly reclaimed following all environmental standards so that there is minimal impact on the environment and public health,” he said.
Digital technologies
The Prime Minister also visited the first regional IT hub in Aktobe. Its primary goal is to support IT startups, digital education, and technology transfer, as well as search for talents in modern technologies and unlock their potential.
Aiming to work on the creation of new digital products and services to address the problems of the city and large industrial companies, the hub residents plan to launch at least 150 incubation programs and 75 startup projects in a year.
The Prime Minister noted that exports of IT products and services increased to $500 million this year, more than $300 million recorded in 2022.
“We expect this figure to reach $1 billion in just two or three years,” he shared. “We have opened eight such centers across Kazakhstan. Six more are planned to be launched by the end of this year.”
Smailov highlighted that each city should have an IT industry center where young urban and rural residents will learn and develop their skills.
The Prime Minister assured that the government would support talented youth within the Concept of Youth Policy adopted for the next seven years and the concept of creative industry enshrined in the laws.
