Kazakh PM pledges full drinking water coverage of cities and villages of Kazakhstan by 2023

AKIPRESS.COM - Prime Minister Askar Mamin discussed the water supply and sanitation in settlements at the government meeting on June 4, his website said.
Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Roman Sklyar, Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov, governors of the Almaty region Amandyk Batalov, Kyzylorda - Krymbek Kusherbayev, Zhambyl - Ablay Myrzakhmetov, Karaganda - Yerlan Koshanov reported on providing the population with drinking water.
Chairman of supervisory board of a private water utility in Shymkent, Water Resources Marketing LLP, Anarbek Orman, said that the investments made by international financial organizations helped improve the quality of services provided to citizens. Since 2010, solar and hydropower stations of 2 MW each have been built and commissioned, 947 km of water supply networks and 67 km of sewer networks have been reconstructed. With the use of digital technologies, the methods of producing and transporting drinking water have been modernized. To date, sewage treatment plants are controlled automatically.
"The investment made it possible to ensure uninterrupted supply of water to consumers, as well as completely purify wastewater in accordance with environmental and sanitary requirements. Regulatory and technical costs have been reduced by 2.4 times. Electricity costs for the production of 1 m² of water are reduced by 12 times," said Orman.
Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Agris Preimanis said that the housing and utilities sector is one of the priorities of the EBRD's work in Kazakhstan. More than 30 billion tenge was invested in the water supply and wastewater systems, these are 12 projects implemented in the regions of the country. As a result of joint work, the quality of drinking water has improved, the water supply has increased, losses have decreased, the percentage of water metering has increased, etc. According to Preimanis, similar work may be carried out in other companies providing services in the field of water supply, drainage, sewerage services treatment facilities.
Summing up, Mamin emphasized the importance of providing the settlements with high-quality drinking water, which directly affects the improvement of the quality of life. "The measures taken will allow in 2023 to resolve the issue of providing 100% of the population with drinking water," said Mamin.