KAZAKHSTAN: EBRD and EU help Kazakhstan to have sustainable water supply

ALMATY (TCA) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the EU are working with the Kazakh authorities to ensure people have adequate access to water and improve other municipal services across the country. The first Kazakh city to participate in the new program is the regional capital Kyzylorda, a few hundred kilometers east of the disappearing Aral Sea.

Bagdat Saginbayeva lives with her husband, brother and four children in a small two-bedroom flat. It is a busy household and there is always something to do: cooking, cleaning, preparing baby food – all activities which require water. “We live on the fifth floor and have a water pressure problem,” the EBRD Press Office quoted her as saying. “The water does not reach our floor properly, so we have to use a pump. Our water pump is electric. It’s insufficient as we are paying separately for water and electricity.”

A lot of investment is urgently needed for the country’s water infrastructure: new pipes, pumps, water purifiers and other energy efficient equipment. The EBRD provides loans, while the EU and the Kazakh authorities complement them with grants to prepare and support the Bank’s activities.

Kyzylorda’s water is sourced from the Syr Darya river, explained Nurzhan Dikhambayev, Acting Director at Kyzylorda’s water company. His goal is to modernize the water supply and wastewater collection systems. Using energy efficient technology in the company will help to achieve this, he said.

“Other regions of Kazakhstan face the same problems. Our project will be a good example for other Kazakh cities in the water, wastewater and district heating sectors,” he added.

“Together with the EU, we are reaching out to Kazakhstan’s regions to modernize municipal services over the next few years,” said Bakhtiyor Faiziev, Principal Banker in the EBRD’s Almaty office.

The initiative has already borne fruit — eleven major Kazakh cities have so far expressed their desire to take part in the program, and the number is still growing.

The program will help them provide their citizens not only with a better water supply but also a cleaner wastewater system and less energy waste when heating their homes.

In total, the program is expected to directly benefit some 3.8 million citizens across Kazakhstan, the EBRD said.

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