Water infrastructure modernization accelerates in Kazakhstan, ministry says
Kazakhstan has reduced the number of long-delayed water infrastructure projects by 47 percent over the past three years, as the country accelerates efforts to modernize its water management system, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Since the establishment of the ministry, the number of stalled projects involving the construction and reconstruction of water management facilities has fallen from 19 to 10, according to the ministry.
Between 2020 and 2022, 19 long-delayed projects were on the balance sheet of the Committee for Water Resources. Their implementation had been prolonged due to unfinished construction work, the need to revise design and cost documentation, legal disputes and other factors.
The projects have been reduced through a phased approach based on the committee’s approved algorithm for completing long-delayed projects for the construction and reconstruction of hydraulic structures.
Among the projects already completed is the reconstruction of the Kyzylorda hydroelectric complex, which had been suspended in 2020. The project was completed in late 2024. Another long-delayed project, the construction of the Eskulin water pipeline in Zhezkazgan, was completed in 2025.
The ministry said the remaining 10 projects are expected to be completed and commissioned within the next two years.
They include the reconstruction of a water intake facility on the Sumbe River in Almaty region, the Preobrazhenskiy hydraulic complex and Seletinskoye Reservoir in Akmola region, and a hydraulic complex on the Kusak River in Abai region.
The remaining projects also include the reconstruction of hydraulic structures along the Kyzylorda left-bank main canal, as well as the Kyzylkum main canal and the K-26, K-28 and K-30 canals in Turkistan region.
Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov said the creation of a dedicated ministry had helped Kazakhstan move from fragmented management of the water sector toward a comprehensive state policy focused on water security.
He added that the establishment of the ministry had accelerated the modernization of water infrastructure, strengthened oversight of water use, increased the pace of introducing water-saving technologies and helped establish a long-term system for ensuring the country’s water security.
Earlier, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan and U.S. sign deal to advance industrial water treatment.
