New prisons will burden Kazakh budget, official says
ASTANA – Kazakhstan has abandoned plans to build new prisons as part of the public-private partnership (PPP) due to the high cost of the project, said Minister of Internal Affairs Kalmukhanbet Kassymov during a recent Mazhilis government hour. He addressed “measures taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and local executive bodies to implement the…
Workers receive $6.7 million in back pay after national labour inspections
ASTANA – As of Sept. 21, national labour inspectors revealed salary arrears to 20,000 employees worth more than 2.65 billion tenge (US$7.8 million) in 1,194 enterprises, according to the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population. “As a result of taken measures, including the establishment of rigid schedules and…
Civil servants from Russia improve their qualifications in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – The Academy of Public Administration under the President of Kazakhstan hosted a seminar on introducing modern management technologies in the activities of state bodies for the basic and advanced level of Russia’s reserve of management personnel, according to the press service of the academy. The seminar was attended by 30 civil servants from…
Almaty hosts Central Asia’s first football championship for children with cerebral palsy
ASTANA – Almaty hosted Sept. 26-27 the first football championship in Central Asia among children diagnosed with cerebral palsy and neurological diseases with the support of Kazakhstan’s Football Federation. The championship brought young players aged 10-15 years together to form six teams. “Football is one of the rehabilitation methods for children with cerebral palsy. Look…
Renewable energy to light 100 pedestrian crossings in Astana
ASTANA – Nearly 100 pedestrian crossings in Astana will be powered by wind and solar energy, said head of the city’s renewable energy sources project Rustam Kadyrov Sept. 19. The measure seeks to save energy and enhance the lighting at night to decrease the road crash rate in the city. “Column with a console will…
President tours memorial in Almaty region
ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited recently the Batyr Babalar memorial complex in the Raiymbek rural district of the Karasai district during a working visit to Almaty and the Almaty region, according to the presidential administration press service. Nazarbayev was acquainted with the expositions of the memorial complex, which demonstrate the history of Kazakhstan, beginning…
Wood wool cement factory opens in Kazakhstan
KOKSHETAU – A factory to produce Albolite, also known as wood wool cement, has launched operations in Kazakhstan. “Yernazarov and Co LTD produces albolite bricks. Albolite is a unique construction material, which consists of processed wood chips bonded with M500 cement and which contains mineralisers,” according to the company. Albolite is known to have high…
Kazakh car manufacturers ask officials to revise tariff policy with Uzbekistan
ASTANA – KazAvtoProm, the Kazakh Car Industry Union, released an open letter to Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov expressing concern about access of their products to the Uzbek market. “The draft resolution of the Uzbek President ‘On measures for streamlining of foreign economic activity of Uzbekistan’ adopted Sept. 19 raises concerns about the prospects…
Kazakh schoolchildren to learn about maintaining healthy lifestyle
ASTANA – Kazakhstan plans to launch Foodprint, a national programme which aims to promote healthy lifestyle among schoolchildren. “This project envisages the education of schoolchildren starting from the junior classes to determine the calorie content of food, the purity of air and water and the amount of consumed oxygen. The project will help Kazakh schoolchildren…
Almaty awards best landscapers
ASTANA – One hundred landscapers of Almaty took part in the recent competition for the title of the best, held by the Chisto po-Almatinsky (Clean as in Almaty) fund with the support of the Efes Kazakhstan company. The competition lasted four months. All of the city’s condominiums applied for participation in the competition and then…
Nazarbayev, head of National Scientific Cardio Surgical Centre discuss development of cardio surgery in Kazakhstan
President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently discussed the development of cardio surgery in Kazakhstan in a meeting with Chairman of the Board of the National Scientific Cardio-Surgical Centre Yuri Pya. The head of state noted the significance of the 27th Congress of the World Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons, where the best cardio surgeons from 50…
Government should control bitcoin operations, says Mazhilis deputy
ASTANA – Kazakhstan Mazhilis (lower house) deputy Amanzhan Zhamalov suggested placing bitcoin operations under the government control during a Sept. 13 Mazhilis plenary session. Referring to the rapid development and spread of bitcoin operations worldwide, Zhamalov asserted Kazakhstan should keep the operation under control to determine the trends in the emerging market. “The crypto currency…
Jordan launches ‘GGG’ clothing line with Kazakh ornamentation
ASTANA – The Jordan American brand of sportswear recently presented a collection of clothes devoted to Kazakh boxer Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), vesti.kz reports. Nike has already started selling two kinds of caps, four T-shirts and one sweatshirt from the Golovkin’s collection. The design is based on Kazakh ornamentation and uses the boxer’s phrase…
Prime Minister discusses Digital Kazakhstan with international experts
ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev discussed with international experts Sept. 13 in Astana the development of the Digital Kazakhstan programme, according to prime minister’s press service. Development of the programme involves sending its main concepts to experts in various countries for review and has involved working with such large international companies as IBM,…
Electric car charging stations launch in Astana and Almaty
ASTANA – Construction of electric car charging stations under the pilot project has been completed with the active support of the Almaty and capital administrations and private investments. The Ministry of Energy will be increasing construction of up to 100 charging stations and corresponding infrastructure in both cities by the end of the year. The…
Joint development proposed to digitalise Kazakh and Russian economies
ASTANA – Russian Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikolai Nikiforov, who has proposed strengthening Kazakhstan’s and Russia’s joint digitalisation work, spoke about the initiative during the Set. 13 meeting on the topic here. The session was attended by government representatives, who also served as presenters, and President Nursultan Nazarbayev The two countries need to…
Kazakhstan to issue Sukuk worth $300 million next year
ASTANA – Kazakhstan will issue Islamic independent bonds, or Sukuk, worth $300 million next year, according to the announcement of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during the recent ceremony of Global Islamic Finance Awards in Astana. According to the President, a number of Islamic financial institutions operate in Kazakhstan in the sphere of bank insurance and…
Feasibility study necessary to determine if planned nuclear power plant is built, says Kazakh minister
ASTANA – The Kazatomprom national atomic company will complete a feasibility study by the end of this year before deciding whether to move forward with a planned nuclear power plant, announced Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev at the Sept. 7-8 Kazenergy Eurasian Forum in Astana. “Once we have the report, we will be able to make…
Astana to build enclosed pedestrian skyway system
ASTANA – The Astana city government plans to build a system of enclosed pedestrian footbridges connecting buildings two and three stories above the sidewalk, according to the akimat (city administration) press service. The announcement was made during a meeting with the participation of Akim (Mayor) of Astana Asset Issekeshev. The system will be similar to…
New religion textbook to be included in national school curriculum
ASTANA – A new religion textbook will be added to the national school curriculum, announced Minister of Religious Affairs and Civil Society of Kazakhstan Nurlan Yermekbayev at a recent government meeting. Society and Religion is the textbook’s working title, according to Yermekbayev. “Together with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan,…
New children’s vaccination method proposed in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is considering making children’s vaccinations mandatory only for dangerous infectious diseases, Minister of Religious Affairs and Civil Society of Kazakhstan Nurlan Yermekbayev announced during a recent government meeting. “We are currently considering the issue of mandatory vaccination provided for dangerous infections, parasitic diseases that can be transmitted from one child to another,”…
Minister reports on Digital Kazakhstan programme as launch date approaches
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev held a meeting Aug. 23 with Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev, according to akorda.kz, during which the minister reported on the development of the Digital Kazakhstan programme. Nazarbayev stressed the relevance of large-scale digitalisation of the economy in the context of growing global competition. “Today this issue is…
KazSport TV channel changes name to Qazsport
ASTANA – The Kazakhstan TV/radio company, which includes the only sports television channel KazSport in the country, has rebranded itself. Starting with the new TV season, which the channel starts on Aug. 28, the names of a number of TV channels will be written in Latin. Its sports TV channel will be now be called…
60 percent of privatisation programme completed, says Samruk Kazyna chair
ASTANA – The privatisation of 60 percent of companies sought for Kazakhstan’s national privatisation programme within the Samruk Kazyna National Welfare Fund has been completed. Samruk Kazyna Chairperson Umirzak Shukeev reported Aug. 23 on the fund’s activities to Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, highlighting the progress in its transformation and privatisation programmes. Established in 2008, the…
Prime Minister praises EXPO 2017 in Eurasian Week opening remarks
ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev praised EXPO 2017’s contribution to economic growth and regional integration in his opening remarks to the Eurasian Week forum on Aug. 24. “It is very symbolic that the Eurasian Week forum is held within the international EXPO exhibition, the achievements of which will contribute to a harmonious transition…
