Infrastructure projects worth 670 billion tenge (US$1.5 billion) will be implemented in rural areas within four years. This will improve the standard of living of seven million Kazakh residents. Minister of National Economy Alibek Kuantyrov spoke about the progress of the project entitled ‘Auyl – Yel besigi’ at the meeting in the Mazhilis. 100 billion tenge (US$224.9 million) will be allocated for villages this year. They will be sent to the housing and communal services, education and health facilities, as well as transport infrastructure.
“206 billion tenge (US$463.3 million) was allocated and over 2,600 projects were implemented from 2019 to 2021. This helped to modernize 250 housing and communal, 676 social and more than 1,700 transport facilities. 100 billion tenge (US$224.9 million) will be allocated in 2022 to implement 914 projects in 492 villages with development potential. In accordance with the President’s instruction, 20 billion tenge (US$44.9 million) is planned to be alloted to western and southern regions to develop social, cultural, sports and educational infrastructure as part of the ‘Auyl – Yel besigi’ project,” Kuantyrov said.
Meanwhile, a member of the Mazhilis Albert Rau expressed concern about the failure to carry out the parameters of the national project. The ‘Auyl – Yel besigi’ program was implemented only in 18 percent of villages in the past three years, he said.
“Governors together with the Ministry of National Economy selected 3,500 rural areas out of 6,300, 1,173 of which are landscaped villages, and 2,388 – satellite. As of January 2020, in fact, only 665 villages out of 3,500 were involved in the program, that is, only 18 percent over three years. The project is supposed to cover 2,870 villages within the next four years. The risks of not fulfilling the parameters of the national project are already evident,” noted Albert Rau, Chairperson of the Committee for Economic Reform and Regional Development.
At the beginning of this year, there were nearly 6,300 rural areas in the country, where about eight million residents live.
Translation by Saniya Sakenova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
