Water losses drop in S Kazakhstan
The second phase of the irrigation and drainage system improvement project significantly improved water supply across 74,500 ha of land, Kazinform News Agency reports cites the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
Water losses across irrigation networks were reduced to 193 million cubic meters annually. The project spans 11 sites in the Almaty, Zhambyl, Kyzylorda, and Turkistan regions.
Two facilities were put into operation in the Zhambyl region, supplying water to 10,000 ha of farmland. In the Kyzylorda region, construction and installation works were completed at another site, which will serve 15,100 ha. Preparations are currently underway to bring the facility online.
As of early June 2025, the project achieved the reconstruction of 3,064.88 km of canals (88.3%), 1,280.87 km of collectors (80.4%), and 26,593 hydraulic structures (81.6%). Additionally, 426 observation wells were built (92.4%), and all 222 planned vertical drainage wells were successfully drilled (100%).
The second phase of the irrigation and drainage system improvement project is scheduled for completion by the end of this year, with construction and installation work currently underway at eight sites.
“The full implementation of the project will improve water management by cutting irrigation water losses by up to 360 million cubic meters annually, reducing reliance on transboundary rivers, and boosting canal efficiency by 40 to 70%. It will also enhance water supply across 105,000 ha of land and create up to 20,000 permanent jobs for local residents,” said Nurbek Serikov, Deputy Chairman of the Water Management Committee at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
As reported earlier, over 1.5 billion cubic meters of water were delivered to Sozak district.
