Kazakhstan will provide natural gas to 93 settlements by the end of the year. For this, an additional 50 billion tenge (US$118 million) was allocated from the state budget, Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said at the Government’s meeting. According to him, at the end of last year, the level of the country's gas infrastructure development exceeded 57 percent, while 11 million people got access to gas. This work is carried out within the master plan of gas infrastructure expansion, which is designed until 2030, Akchulakov said. The project is funded not only from the budget, but also from the income of the national operator in the field of gas and gas supply, as well as other sources not prohibited by the country’s legislation.
“This year, 45.8 billion tenge (US$108 million) was allocated from the national budget for the gas infrastructure development in the country under the budget program of the ministry, and the allocation of the additional 50.1 billion tenge (US$118.5 million) was approved as part of the revision of the state budget for 2022. As a result, 96 billion tenge (US$227 million) is provided for the implementation of 133 projects, which will provide gas to 146,000 people or 93 settlements. The planned level of gas infrastructure expansion for 2022 is 58.43 percent,” the minister said.
Akchulakov also said that in addition to improving the country’s master plan of gas infrastructure expansion, the ministry is also working to modernize the gas transport infrastructure and change the pricing model for natural gas.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
