Public, private Alakol Lake investment drives tourist boom
ASTANA – Alakol Lake tourists will have an opportunity to enjoy a more comfortable stay in a four-star hotel and new entertainment centre this year. Construction on a hotel worth over half a billion tenge (US$1.32 million) and an entertainment centre worth 230 million tenge (US$607,533.5) is underway. Almost 700,000 tourists visited Alakol from the…
Kazakh boxer Gennady Golovkin splits with his promoter
ASTANA – Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) has parted ways with his promoter, Tom Leffler. Now the Kazakh fighter is a free agent and is negotiating with promoter Eddie Hearn and the DAZN streaming service. The split was announced on Twitter by ESPN television channel insider and expert Dan Rafael. Golovkin…
Kazakh designer wins NASA competition
ASTANA – Kazakh designer Arsen Seksenbayev was among the winners of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) competition with the best sketch for the space laboratory. Seksenbayev’s sketch will be the basis for building a laboratory aboard the International Space Station to study extra-terrestrial plants. NASA has offered a preliminary contract and invited him…
Astana clinics introduce health bracelets with patients’ medical records
ASTANA – A pilot project involving health bracelets with QR codes has been introduced at capital clinics Nos. 4, 9 and 10. The bracelets provide information about a patient’s medical records and contacts for relatives. The device should help chronically ill individuals during emergency hospitalisation. The project is part of the Management for Chronic Non-communicable…
Smart locks to be installed in Astana residential complexes
ASTANA – Smart locks will be introduced in the capital’s residential complexes, reports 24.kz. A new mobile application will allow users to access courtyards, parking and apartments with a single electronic key. Access may be extended to guests via e-mail or short message services (SMS). The app is suitable for all types of premises, including…
Kazakh housing prices expected to grow 10 percent in 2019, Astana remains highest priced city
ASTANA – Housing prices in Kazakhstan are expected to increase 10 percent in 2019, according to a recent report by the Union of Builders of Kazakhstan. The rising exchange rate of the U.S. dollar versus the tenge can be one of the reasons. Luxury residential complexes with parking and other amenities are not in demand…
KTZ will notify passengers about train delays
ASTANA – Beginning Jan. 1, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) will notify passengers about train delays of more than three hours, said Asset Asavbayev, chair of the Ministry for Investments and Development transport committee, at a Dec. 6 press conference in the capital. Passengers will receive an SMS notification (text) free of charge, and Asavbayev stressed…
Kyzylorda changes time zones to save electricity, improve public health
ASTANA – Beginning Dec. 21, Kyzylorda clocks will be turned back one hour, announced Regional Akim (Governor) Krymbek Kusherbayev. According to experts, the transfer will eliminate physiological abnormalities affecting people’s health and cut electricity expenses. A video message from the head of the region’s residents is posted on the Kyzylorda regional administration website. “According to…
Mobile device registration deadline nears, reminds minister
ASTANA –Kazakh Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev reminded the public at a Dec. 10 press-conference that mobile operators will not service mobile devices that have not passed International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) registration after the Jan. 1 deadline. The Kazakh Law on Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts on Issues of Information…
Kazakhstan may postpone national railway IPO
ASTANA – Postponing Kazakhstan Temir Zholy’s (KTZ) initial public offering (IPO) until 2025 has been requested on behalf of the National Association of Mining and Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises and the Kazakh Union of Manufacturers and Exporters. “The Kazakh Ministry of National Economy is now considering IPO launches in the next year or two, which…
China to assist Kazakh agro exports to Southeast Asia
ASTANA – Kazakhstan has accepted an offer from China to create joint ventures to increase agricultural exports to Southeast Asian countries. “All the markets are opening today, especially the large Chinese market. The Chinese Government proposed to ship our products through China to Southeast Asia by creating joint ventures with Chinese partners. We hope to…
Kazakhstan to form non-joint stock company to raise funds for film production, promotion
ASTANA – The Kazakh Senate adopted a law “On Cinematography” Dec. 6 . It supports the production of national films, their wider distribution and entry into the international film industry. The law should significantly change the existing mechanisms for developing Kazakh national cinema, said Minister of Culture and Sports Arystanbek Muhamediuly while presenting the draft…
Kazakhstan opens literature and art centre in Madrid
ASTANA – The Kazakh Embassy to Spain and Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) recently opened the Centre of Kazakh literature and art in Madrid. The opening ceremony was dedicated to the Day of the First President, reported the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service. Opening Kazakh literature centres abroad is being implemented…
Shymkent Oil Refinery completes modernisation, improves fuel and environmental standards
ASTANA – The Shymkent Oil Refinery recently completed a modernisation allowing it to meet Euro-4 and Euro-5 fuel standards while making the refinery more environmentally friendly. The $1.8 billion upgrade also increased the refinery’s annual production capacity from 5.25 to 6 million tonnes. The modernisation of the refinery was part of Kazakhstan’s national Industrialisation Programme…
Kazakhstan Highway Research Institute develops new road survey system
ASTANA – The Kazakhstan Highway Research Institute (KazNorDII) has developed a road asset management system. Beginning with the East Kazakhstan region, the database will use machines and up-to-date digital technology to examine cracks and other road surface damage and assess overall condition, reported YK-news.kz. “Such systems are used in many European countries. We cannot use…
Kazakhstan and UAE boost production projects, discuss aerospace industry cooperation
ASTANA – First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Presidential Affairs Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Nov. 25 in Abu-Dhabi to discuss investing in polyethylene and polypropylene production and the aerospace industry, highlighting the great potential for cooperation in the energy field. The visit was part of…
Kazakh Healthcare Ministry proposes reducing confidential abortion age to 16
ASTANA – Kazakh Vice Minister of Healthcare Lyazzat Aktayeva suggested reducing the age when adolescents can have an abortion without their parents’ permission (confidentially) to 16 during a Majilis (lower house of Parliament) meeting. Children’s health is the most important issue and access to timely medical services is essential, said the ministry’s public health policy…
PetroKazakhstan sponsors open youth tennis tournament in Shymkent
ASTANA – More than 70 children participated in a recent open tennis tournament in Shymkent. The tournament was sponsored by PetroKazakhstan Oil Products (PKOP) as part of an ongoing effort by the company to promote sports in the region. Tennis is popular in Kazakhstan and the Kazakh Tennis Federation often sponsors national level tournaments. However,…
Kazakh research institute to enact comprehensive plan to counter cancer mortality
ASTANA – The Kazakh Research Institute of Oncology and Radiology has prepared a 35 billion tenge (US$93.88 million) action plan to reduce cancer mortality rates for the next year, Director of the institute Dilyara Kaidarova told the recent Innovations in Healthcare forum. The comprehensive plan to fight cancer includes the purchase of innovative equipment, some…
Kazakh star Dimash Kudaibergen performs solo concert in London
ASTANA – Famous Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergen performed his exclusive “DQ” solo concert Nov. 19 in London at O2 Arena’s Indigo Hall. The concert joined the celebration of Days of Kazakh culture in the United Kingdom organised by the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Kazakh Embassy in London. “When you are performing…
Kazakhstan to modernise police, conduct performance appraisals
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced plans to reform the police and other agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the Nov. 18 meeting at the Akorda. “Every year, more than 4.5 million citizens report crimes to the police, but the conditions for them are not created. The police need to deal with…
Modernising judicial system will foster public trust, says President
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev called for additional measures to modernise the judicial system at a Nov. 19 presidential administration meeting. Presidential Administration Head Asset Issekeshev, Supreme Court Chairman Zhakyp Assanov and Supreme Judicial Council Chairman Talgat Donakov reported on the modernisation of the judicial system. “Trust in the courts is comparable to trust…
Kazakhstan supports extending OPEC deal in 2019
ASTANA – Kazakh Vice Minister of Energy Magzum Mirzagaliyev recently affirmed Kazakhstan’s support for extending OPEC+ output cuts in 2019. OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed in November 2016 in Vienna to cut oil production by 1.8 million barrels per day, corresponding to roughly two percent of global oil production. The move was meant to ease…
Three-year investment arbitration dispute ruled in Kazakhstan’s favour
ASTANA – The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris issued Nov. 8 a decision rejecting an approximately $16 million claim by the Turkish company Mağdenli Yer Hizmetleri ve Taşıma Anonim Şirketi against Kazakhstan, reports the Kazakh Ministry of Justice press service. Mağdenli Yer Hizmetleri ve Taşıma Anonim Şirketi founded the company ATMA…
New one-way roads in Astana open Nov. 15
ASTANA – According to the Astana Akimat (city administration), a new one-way traffic will be operating from Nov. 15 on two streets in Astana’s right bank. The first section is from Zhenis Avenue to Mambetov Street on Bukharbai Batyr Street. The second is from Kenessary Avenue to Bukharbai Batyr Street on the Zheltoksan Street. These…
