UAPF head cautious about applying Singapore pension system in Kazakhstan
NUR-SULTAN – Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) head Zhanat Kurmanov, speaking during the second Strategic Initiatives Forum Nov. 20 in the capital, suggested the Singapore pension system example should be viewed with caution. “There are countries with rich experience in pension system functioning and one of them is Singapore. It should be noted that there…
Kazakh government increases budget expenditures $106 million for 2020-2022
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government will add 40.8 billion tenge (US$105.5 million) to its budget expenditures for 2020-2022, made possible by redistributing budget programme expenses, said Minister of National Economy Ruslan Dalenov in introducing the draft budget during the Senate plenary session. “Expenses increased by 40.8 billion tenge (US$105.5 million), including 15 billion tenge (US$38.81…
EBRD to finance Kurty-Kapshagai highway reconstruction
NUR-SULTAN – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and KazAvtoZhol have signed a 34.5 billion tenge (US$89 million) loan agreement for the Kurty-Kapshagai road project. The signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development. Authorities plan to use the funds to reconstruct the 67-kilometre (km) section connecting the two…
Almaty city authorities present urban greening draft master plan
NUR-SULTAN – Almaty Akim (Mayor) Bakytzhan Sagintayev reviewed a draft master plan on urban landscaping Nov. 13 based on the results of expert studies. The plan involves planting millions of trees and shrubs in the city in the next three years to provide citizens with fresh air and well-maintained recreational zones. “All the works on…
Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs seeks volunteers to help keep public order, search for missing persons
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs is working to increase citizen involvement in protecting public order. The effort includes creating a volunteer law enforcement movement and optimising search measures and help for local police inspectors to prevent crime, reported its press service. Police plan to increase the number of special volunteer legal groups…
Three Kazakh films featured at Asian World Film Festival
NUR-SULTAN – Three Kazakh films, “The Golden Throne” by Rustem Abdrashov, “The Guardian of the Light” by Yermek Tursunov and “The Secret of a Leader” by Farkhat Sharipov, were featured Nov. 6-14 at the 9th Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles (U.S.), reported Kazinform. “The Golden Throne” is the film version of the second…
Kazakhstan’s digital transformation has a $578 million positive effect
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s digital transformation has had a $578 million positive economic effect, reported the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry press service. As a result of the changes, information and communications technology (ICT) costs have decreased 13 percent per year. Digital transformation is one of the country’s main goals. The nation adopted…
Russian, Kazakh and US scientists publish study showing how to save $3 billion per year on electricity
NUR-SULTAN – Russian, Kazakh and U.S. scientists published a joint study on the causes of electricity losses Nov. 14 that aims to save up to $3 billion per year on electricity costs. “We were able to reduce losses on corona discharges by 20-40 percent due to the application of a hydrophilic porous nanocomposite coating containing…
Kazakhstan, EAEU to tighten control over dairy production in 2020
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government will tighten controls over dairy production starting Jan. 1 as part of the new Eurasian Economic Union Technical Regulation on the safety of milk and dairy products. The requirements introduce new maximum quantitative indicators of mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms and somatic cells for raw milk, skimmed milk and…
National Security Committee releases film about Kazakh citizen who returned from Syria
NUR-SULTAN – The National Security Committee released the film “Accusation and Regret” on its YouTube channel about a Kazakh citizen who returned from Syria. Bakhtiyar Ibrayev tells the story of the way he fought for terrorist groups prohibited in Kazakhstan. A native of the Akmola Region, Ibrayev studied in Egypt in 2007, then joined the…
Majilis approves 2020-2022 draft budget
NUR-SULTAN – The Majilis (lower chamber of Parliament) approved the draft law of the 2020-2022 national budget at its Oct. 23 plenary session. The main principle is to consistently implement the course and medium-term tasks set for the nation as a part of the Strategic Development Plan through 2025, said First Deputy Prime Minister and…
Kazakhstan losing $11 million monthly due to Russia’s restrictions on coal transit to Ukraine
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is losing $11 million monthly due to Russia’s restricts coal transit to Ukraine through its territory, according to the Kazakh Ministry of Trade and Integration press service. “The current ban on the transit of certain Kazakh goods by Russia discredits the treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union’s (EAEU) basic principles on restricting…
5G to be implemented in Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent by 2021, says Zhumagaliyev
NUR-SULTAN – A 5G network will be implemented in the capital by 2021, Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry Askar Zhumagaliyev said at the Oct. 1 government meeting. “According to the President’s order, work is underway to introduce a 5G network in Kazakhstan. The roadmap was approved. Testing of 5G mobile communications has…
Toll roads will add more than $10 million annually to Kazakh budget
NUR-SULTAN – Toll roads will add more than four billion tenge ($10 million) annually to the Kazakh budget, said Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Beibut Atamkulov on Oct. 22. “At the moment, the length of toll roads has been increased to 682 kilometres. Nur-Sultan – Schuchinsk road is 211 kilometres, Nur-Sultan – Temirtau is…
Kazakh military participates in Unbreakable Brotherhood training in Tajikistan
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh military participated in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Unbreakable Brotherhood 2019 training at the Harb-Maidon training ground in Tajikistan with military representatives from Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, reported the Kazakh Ministry of Defence press service Oct. 26. “Today the second stage begins, in which the Collective Peacekeeping Forces…
FlyArystan presents results for first six months of operations
NUR-SULTAN – FlyArystan has carried more than 455,000 passengers with a load factor of 94 percent during its first six months of operations. Since commencing flights on May 1, 2019, the low-cost airline has made more than 2,500 flights, of which 93 percent were completed on time. FlyArystan has sold more than 600,000 seats since…
Kazakh pension fund totals $27 billion, includes broad range of assets
NUR-SULTAN – The Unified Accumulation Pension Fund (UAPF) portfolio of pension assets totalled 10.43 trillion tenge (US$26.77 billion) as of Oct. 1, reported the Kazakh National Bank in a brief overview of the UAPF investment activities on pension assets for September. According to the Kazakh National Bank, 65.7 percent of the total portfolio is cash…
Average car price in Kazakhstan increases 5.6% in first nine months of 2019
NUR-SULTAN – The average cost of a new car in Kazakhstan rose 5.6 percent in the first nine months of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, according to a recent report by the KazAutoProm Automobile Employer’s Union. The report put the average new car price in Kazakhstan at $23,000. Cars made in Kazakhstan…
Kazakhstan’s payment balance develops $1.9 billion deficit, external debt shrinks by $467.6 million in first half of 2019
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s current account payment balance developed a $1.9 billion deficit in the first half of 2019 and external debt was $158.3 billion, or 87.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), reported the National Bank of Kazakhstan press service. “In the first half of 2019, the external debt decreased $467.6 million. The state external…
Khan’s residence in northern Kazakhstan gives a unique glimpse into history
NUR-SULTAN – The residence of Abylai Khan in Petropavlovsk in northern Kazakhstan offers a unique glimpse into the history of medieval khans. The museum opened in 2008 and is unique because it is the only architectural monument in Kazakhstan related to the khan. Abylai Khan was a ruler of the Kazakh Khanate in the 18th…
Astana Hub, UNICEF launch Social Innovation Lab to solve children’s social problems
NUR-SULTAN – Astana Hub and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have launched Social Innovation Lab, which will create favourable conditions for supporting and developing projects aimed at children and their interests. “The goal of the lab is to pilot projects that will solve children’s social problems using IT innovations. We focus on this. IT…
Oil companies to launch five renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan by beginning of 2020
NUR-SULTAN – Major oil companies plan to launch five renewable energy projects by the beginning of 2020, Ministry of Energy Department of Renewable Energy Sources Head Ainur Sospanova announced recently. She pointed out a trend of oil giants developing renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan. “The oil companies such as Shell, Eni, Total and Irena are…
Kazakh MIA introduces distance learning, online shops and employment to improve convicts’ lives
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs has improved prison conditions with distance education, online shops and employment, reported Penal System Committee Acting Chairperson Tenizzhan Dzhanibekov. “We launched a pilot project of online purchases for convicts in Almaty and the Akmola Region. The maximum weight of one package increased from 14 to 20 kilogrammes.…
Treating cancer patients abroad has become business, says Kazakh expert
NUR-SULTAN – Helping Kazakh patients to travel abroad for treatment has become an industry in the country, said Kazakh Research Institute of Oncology and Radiology Board Chairperson Dilyara Kaidarova Oct. 15 at the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in the capital. “I checked these cases (of sending patients abroad for treatment) and there are companies that…
Second International Writers Forum focuses on translation problems
NUR-SULTAN – The second International Writers Forum in Almaty Sept. 25-27 focused on translation issues through the theme “Discovering the world – opening to the world. Problems of literary translation and literary contacts.” “Today, culturally, the world has become more diverse than in the past. The number of nation states that are striving for self-determination…
