Page 1056 – The Times Of Central Asia

02 Jan 2024

Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Business & Economy

$10 Million Jewelry Factory to be Launched in Fergana

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

A jewelry factory will be created in the Fergana region together with Turkish businessmen. The project was discussed at a meeting of the regional khokim (administrative leader), Khairullo Bozorov, local businessman, Ulugbek Abdurakhimov, and Turkish partners, Ali Uyanik and Jezmi Shen, the press service of the regional khokimiyat reports.

As of now, it is known that the plant will produce gold and silver jewelry. It is planned that a research department and a professional training center will operate at the plant. Its products will be targeted both at the domestic market and for export to Europe and America. The plant is set to create more than three hundred jobs.

02 Jan 2024

Life & Culture, Kazakhstan Justice, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan

Man Burns City Xmas Tree in Taraz, Protesting New Year Celebrations

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

A man burned down the main city tree of the administrative center of the Zhambyl region in the city of Taraz. He was detained, and information about the incident was confirmed by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“On December 31 at 08:30am, video surveillance cameras recorded the arson of a Christmas tree installed in the park. The police detained a 56-year-old man. The suspect confessed and was taken to a temporary detention facility,” the ministry stated. The police indicated that a pre-trial investigation has been launched under Article 202 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan (deliberate destruction or damage to someone else’s property).

Witnesses to the incident actively distributed a video on social networks. According to the local publication, Orda.kz, the reason for the crime was the man’s belief, according to his explanation, that the New Year should not be celebrated in Kazakhstan. The damage caused by his actions is estimated to be 2.8 million tenge ($6,150).

02 Jan 2024

Kazakhstan, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan Increases Tariff for Russian Oil Transit

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

KazTransOil JSC, an oil pipeline company of Kazakhstan that provides services for the transportation of oil to the domestic market, for transit and for export, has stated that starting from January 1st, 2024, the tariff for the pumping of Russian oil for transit through the territory of Kazakhstan along the Kazakhstani section of the Tuymazy-Omsk-Novosibirsk-2 (TON-2) main pipeline is to be increased. The tariff will now be $11.28 a ton per 1,000 km, the Kazakh company said.

The main oil pipeline TON-2 passes through the territory of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. The 186.25 km long Kazakh section of the TON-2 oil trunk pipeline supplies oil to the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant (northern Kazakhstan) and transits Russian oil to the People’s Republic of China and Uzbekistan.

01 Jan 2024

Environment, Kazakhstan Environment, Kazakhstan, Features, Kazakhstan Featurees

Kazakhstan Seeks to Resolve Water Management Issues with Regional Neighbors

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

In the modern world, water is as valuable a resource as minerals. For that reason, on September 1st, 2023, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev by decree created the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

“Water resources are no less important for our country than oil, gas or metals. I believe that the effective development of the water management system should be handled by an independent department,” Tokayev said at the time.

Despite the short period of its work, the new Ministry has already had concrete results, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (primeminister.kz) stated in reviewing the country’s economic performance in 2023. In particular, the concept for the development of a water resources management system for 2024-2030 has been developed. It will allow for the area of irrigated agricultural land in Kazakhstan to increase up to 2.2 million hectares, increase the share of water-saving technologies up to 40%, and reduce the loss of irrigation water during transportation down to 15%.

The Ministry has also prepared a plan for the development of the water sector of Kazakhstan for 2024-2030. Its implementation will increase the volume of the country’s water resources by 3.7 cubic kilometers, reduce losses of irrigation water and increase its volume by three cubic kilometers, provide water to 41 settlements with a population of more than 55,000 people, and also reduce Kazakhstan’s dependence on water supplies from neighboring countries by 25%.

In 2024-2026, it is planned to begin construction of 20 new reservoirs and reconstruct 15 reservoirs across the country. A total of 339 canals with a length of 3,5000 km will be reconstructed.

The Ministry also conducted negotiations with neighboring states on water security. As a result, it is expected that by April 1st, 2024, 11.1 cubic kilometers of water will flow into the Syr Darya River, and 487 million cubic meters of water are expected to be taken through the Dostyk interstate canal. This will allow for the accumulation of the volume of water required for growing season in Kazakhstan’s Turkestan and Kyzylorda regions, as well as sending 1.6 cubic kilometers of water to the Aral Sea.

Butakov Bay, Small Aral Sea. Photo: TCA

An agreement was reached with upstream Kyrgyzstan on the supply of irrigation water to the Zhambyl region in southern Kazakhstan, which experienced a severe water shortage this past summer.

The Ministry is also negotiating with upstream China on more than 20 rivers that flow to Kazakhstan, including the Ertys, Ili, and Emel. Today, the two neighboring countries have reached a consensus on a number of issues regarding water distribution.

Finally, a draft agreement is being developed on a mechanism for water and energy cooperation between the countries of Central Asia, with the participation of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

01 Jan 2024

Uzbekistan, Life & Culture, Features, Uzbekistan Life & Culture

President Promises Support for Youth and Business in Uzbekistan in 2024

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

In his New Year address, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that the outgoing year had been successful for the country and its people, emphasizing the importance of peace and tranquility, and an atmosphere of inter-ethnic friendship and harmony in the country.

“For the first time in our history, in a nationwide referendum, we adopted a new version of the Constitution of the country. We have begun to implement the Uzbekistan 2030 strategy, which determines our development for the future,” Mirziyoyev said.

The Uzbek leader stated that the country had ensured sustainable rates of economic growth, and that high-tech industrial enterprises, modern logistics and infrastructure networks, kindergartens and schools, cultural and sports facilities are being built.

Mirziyoyev said that 2024 has been declared the Year of Support for Youth and Business in Uzbekistan. “In the new year, we will intensify the attraction of foreign investment and the creation of broad opportunities for entrepreneurship and private property. We will pay special attention to the development of science, innovation, the IT sector, and the creation of green and digital technologies,” he said.

The focus will be on creating new jobs and increasing the income of the population, Mirziyoyev said, promising to raise the development of the social sphere to a new level.

01 Jan 2024

Uzbekistan, Business & Economy, Uzbekistan Business & Economy

Gazprom to Ensure Reliable Natural Gas Supplies to Central Asia

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Russian energy company Gazprom has agreed with partners in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan on fifteen-year contracts for natural gas supplies. The contracts are to be concluded in mid-2024 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Gazprom’s CEO, Alexey Miller said at the company’s meeting late in December.

Gazprom’s press service quoted Miller as saying that “reliable, stable deliveries under these contracts” to the Central Asian countries will begin on November 1st, 2025.

Miller also pointed out an increase in the current natural gas supplies to Uzbekistan. As winter frosts came at the beginning of December, Gazprom supplied twice as much gas to Uzbekistan as the company’s daily contractual obligations, Miller stated.

The Gazprom CEO also said that in just over three months in 2023, the idle gas transportation system, “Central Asia – Center,” was switched to work in reverse mode. Thanks to such joint work with our colleagues from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Miller said, we implemented this project in the shortest possible time, and this winter, these countries in Central Asia are more reliably provided with gas supplies.

In recent years, Uzbekistan’s natural gas industry has experienced problems due to the depletion of reserves at existing gas fields. This prompted Uzbekistan to start importing natural gas from Russia through Kazakhstan in 2023.

The Uzbek Statistics Agency said last month that natural gas production had fallen by more than 4.5 billion cubic meters from January-November 2023 as compared to the same period in the previous year. From January-November, 42.7 billion cubic meters of gas was produced, compared to 47.3 billion cubic meters in 2022.

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