FlyArystan low-cost airline launches flights between Almaty, Uralsk, Taraz, Nur-Sultan
NUR-SULTAN – New low-cost airline FlyArystan will launch flights between Almaty and Taraz, Almaty and Oral and Almaty and Nur-Sultan in May. The direct flights from Almaty to Oral, the administrative centre of the West Kazakhstan region, will utilise Airbus A320 jets with 180 seats. Tickets for Almaty and Oral flights will start at 12,999…
New course available to teach spelling rules of Kazakh Latin script
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh linguists presented March 26 a course available in the capital to teach the systematic spelling rules of Kazakh Latin script. The course takes 72 hours and includes lectures and practical exercises. The first people to master the course will be hired to coach and consult people in the regions. They will explain…
Kazakh capital name change to be gradual, existing legal documents remain valid
NUR-SULTAN – The country will keep Astana name as world known brand and renaming process will be gradual and not expensive. The capital residents don’t need to change their documents. “In his first speech a President of Kazakhstan, Kazakh President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave a very clear rationale: renaming the capital is an acknowledgment of…
Kazakh university gets nation’s first ASIIN international accreditation
ASTANA – The International Information Technologies University (IITU) in Almaty obtained March 5 international accreditation of the ASIIN (Accreditation Agency for Degree Programmes in Engineering, Informatics, Natural Sciences and Mathematics) for five years. It is the first such accreditation among universities in Kazakhstan. In 2016, to ensure the quality of education, the university applied for…
Nauryz celebrated throughout the country
NUR-SULTAN – Nauryz, a holiday marking the coming of spring and the beginning of a new year, was celebrated March 21-25 throughout the capital with outdoor concerts, sports competitions and national artifact exhibitions, said Nur-Sultan Akimat (city administration) Deputy Akim (Mayor) Nurlan Nurkenov. Similar wide-ranging public celebrations were organised throughout the whole nation. The Nur-Sultan…
Kazakhstan to export 2.2 million tonnes of wheat in 2019
ASTANA – Kazakhstan recorded a record high wheat harvest in 2018 and exported 4.9 million tonnes of wheat. The country plans to export 2.2 million tonnes of wheat this year, opening new countries for export. “Today, we have 10.5 million tonnes of grain, of which 3.7 million tonnes is kept at grain-receiving enterprises, 462,000 tonnes…
Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome, connects with ISS
ASTANA – The Soyuz-FG launch vehicle sent the Soyuz MS-12 manned spacecraft March 15 at 12.14 a.m. local time from the Site no. 1, also known as the Gagarin’s Start, of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The spacecraft connected with the International Space Station (ISS) six hours after the launch and delivered 126.9 kilogrammes of cargo. Commander…
School for children with hearing impairments opens in Astana
ASTANA – A special school for children with hearing loss recently opened in Astana based on the city children’s hospital No. 2. The main tasks of the school are health education and prevention of hearing impairment. For that, the school carries out early age hardware screening of hearing and organises lectures with doctors. This hardware…
Gas pipeline construction in Astana to start in May
ASTANA – The construction of a central gas pipeline will start this May in the capital, reported the department for the fuel and energy complex and utilities. The pipeline, part of the larger Saryarka project that will bring gas to the capital, worth 50 billion tenge (US$132 million) will be implemented in three stages. The…
Microsoft Kazakhstan to assist domestic companies integrate AI technology
ASTANA – Microsoft plans to advise and support Kazakh developers and IT start-ups in integrating advancements in artificial intelligence and cloud computing into businesses, said Microsoft Kazakhstan General Manager Tibor Kolejak at a recent presentation on the robotisation of business processes. Microsoft Kazakhstan directly works with the local companies and sees opportunities for development in…
Kazakhstan, France strengthen cooperation in solar energy ahead of Macron’s visit
ASTANA – Kazakh-French business cooperation in solar energy is being strengthened as the parties work on French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Kazakhstan scheduled for the second half of 2019, said Kazakh Ambassador to France Jean Galiev at a March 8 Kazakh-French forum on digitisation and alternative energy in Cannes. At the forum organised by…
Number of mortgage loans in Kazakhstan increased 19 percent in 2018
ASTANA – The number of home loans issued in Kazakhstan grew 18.9 percent in 2018 over 2017. The total portfolio of loans issued grew by 3 percent in the same time period. The mortgage loans grew 1.8 percent and reached 1.3 trillion tenge (US$3.44 billion) in just December 2018, according to a report by ranking.kz.…
Kazakh Prime Minister examines infrastructure improvements on Astana’s outskirts
ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin reviewed March 2 improvements made to housing, education, medicine, transport, provision of power and water supply and street lighting on the outskirts of Astana. The inspection follows a directive from Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev for local officials to improve citizens’ quality of life. During the inspection of the…
Central Asia’s largest tin deposit expected to spur Kazakhstan’s non-ferrous metal industry
ASTANA – Tin stripping operations will begin in May at Syrymbet, Central Asia’s largest and Kazakhstan’s only tin deposit with an annual capacity of two million tonnes of ore, said North Kazakhstan Region Akim (Governor) Kumar Aksalakov at a late February meeting. The facility is expected to help develop a domestic technologically advanced non-ferrous metal…
National Bank recommends social benefit recipients open accounts to protect benefits payments
ASTANA – Kazakh National Bank is encouraging citizens who receive social benefits to open accounts to help them continue to receive benefits in case of overdue debt. Kazakh legislation bans banks from writing off money from accounts intended for crediting benefits, social payments, alimony and other similar payments. This applies, even if a borrower fails…
Kazakhstan, Vietnam to provide mutual legal assistance on criminal cases
ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Vietnam will provide mutual legal assistance on criminal cases, following the Kazakh Mazhilis’ (lower house of Parliament) approval of a bill on the ratification of a treaty regulating assistance and investigative actions between the two countries at a late February plenary session. The treaty was signed in Hanoi, Vietnam in June…
Kazakh musicians to release songs in French
ASTANA – Almas Duet, composed of Asem Abdykasymova and Polina Tyrina, will release Français À La Kazakh March 9 in the capital. The 15-track album includes five Kazakh folk songs, five others translated into French and five French songs. The tunes feature traditional Kazakh instruments – dombra (akin to lute), zhetygen (zither), sybyzgy (flute) –…
Kazakhstan’s car production increases approximately 80 percent
ASTANA – Kazakh passenger car production increased 78.8 percent (30,000 cars) in 2018 compared to the previous year. The East Kazakhstan region manufactured 18,300 cars, or 60.8 percent of the 2018 total, reported energyprom.kz. One of the nation’s two largest auto plants is in Ust-Kamenogorsk, which works in partnership with General Motors, KIA Motors, Renault-Nissan-AvtoVAZ…
Kazakhstan is global leader in flax production
ASTANA – Kazakhstan ranked first in the world in the production of flax reaching the volume of more than 900,000 tonnes flax in 2018. This was announced by Kazakh First Vice Minister of Agriculture Arman Yevniyev at a recent expanded meeting of the board of the ministry. According to the official, the increase in labour…
Central Asia’s largest solar power plant opens in Karaganda region
ASTANA – The Karaganda region began large-scale transition to green technology by opening a solar power station in Saran, the largest such facility in the Central Asian region. “The head of state set us a task to bring the share of alternative energy up to 30 percent by 2030. Today, we have taken a big…
Kazakhstan increases solar power electricity by 9 percent
ASTANA – Kazakhstan saw a 9-percent increase last year in its volume of solar power generated electricity. The 2018 volume was 107.1 billion kilowatt hour (kWh) compared to 103.1 billion kWh in 2017. The country is gradually transitioning to a green economy, developing its renewable energy by constructing wind and solar power stations. The nation…
Artificial intelligence cleaning robots from Yakutia find first customers in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – An autonomous robot cleaner designed to clean large premises and industrial and commercial facilities was presented Feb. 4 at the Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport in the capital. The inventor, a start-up company from Yakutia, Russia, has signed a contract to supply 100 robots to Kazakh companies. Kazakh officials and Yakut partners are working…
Nazarbayev University scholars, students invent medical device named among world’s top 20 innovations
ASTANA – The United Nations (UN) recently recognised an invention by Nazarbayev University (NU) scholars and students’ to rehabilitate patients after a stroke as among the world’s top 20 innovative solutions. According to the NU press service, ReLive helps stroke victims recover more quickly. It includes equipment and software for reading and recognising brain signals,…
KMG International sets operating and financial records
ASTANA – KMG International recorded high operating and financial results in 2018, according to management reports. The group’s operating profit (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA)) was $249.7 million, according to unaudited management reporting data, with a net profit of $86 million. “In 2018, KMG International’s operating activities were implemented in full compliance…
Kazakh, UAE businesswomen commit to developing economic ties at business forum
ASTANA – A Kazakh delegation of businesswomen to Dubai recently committed to deepening bilateral economic, trade and technological ties between Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the UAE-Kazakhstan Businesswomen Forum. Kazakh Secretary of State Gulshara Abdykalikova and Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs’ Businesswomen Council Chairperson Lyazzat Ramazanova headed the Kazakh delegation of women…
