Page 896 – The Times Of Central Asia

23 Jan 2024

Shipment of psychotropic substances seized in Almaty

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

The press service of the National Security Committee has reported the seizure of a record shipment of psychotropic substances in Almaty. The laboratory for the manufacture of synthetic drugs was organized in a private house, which reportedly was rented. The organizer of the illegal drug laboratory was a 26-year-old citizen of Kazakhstan.

During the operation, the service seized more than 200kg of finished mephedrone, which is approximately equal to 610,000 single doses, as well as more than 100 liters of raw materials for its subsequent manufacture. Such a volume of finished substances indicates that the laboratory was the largest in the country.

The investigation revealed that the entire volume of psychotropic substances was intended for distribution in Kazakhstan. The owner of the drug laboratory has been detained and is in custody awaiting trial.

Over the past year, the drug situation in Central Asian countries has been characterized by an increase in the production of opiates and methamphetamine in Afghanistan, the emergence of new types of synthetic drugs and methods of their distribution.

The increase in drug turnover in Central Asian countries for 2023 exceeded 100%. From January to September 2023 alone, more than 40 tons of precursors were seized from illicit trafficking, which is 144% or more than in the same period of 2022.

23 Jan 2024

Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Business & Economy

Uzbekistan’s energy production figures have fallen

June 27, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

According to the Agency of Industrial Production Statistics, Uzbekistan’s gas production fell by 9.6% (4.97 billion cubic meters) last year compared to 2022, amounting to 46.7 billion cubic meters. Thus, the average monthly gas production is 3.89 billion cubic meters, while in 2022, 4.3 billion cubic meters of gas was produced per month.

In December, however, production has already increased to 3.95 billion cubic meters. This was the highest since April. However, it could not even come close to the figure for December 2022 – 4.35 billion cubic meters, which is up by 9% (395.1 million cubic meters).

However, thanks to gas supplies from Russia and Turkmenistan, the shortfall was bridged.

In 2023, however, electricity production increased significantly – from 73.7 billion to 76.9 billion kWh, i.e. by 3.19 billion kWh (4.3%). In December alone, 7.27 billion kWh were generated. If we start counting from May, this is the limit.

And this is despite the above-mentioned troubles with gas production, because about 80-85% of electricity in Uzbekistan is produced by thermal power plants, and they in turn operate on gas. However, their share in the country is decreasing due to the introduction of new capacities of photovoltaic power plants.

Also, coal production exceeded its previous figures – up to 6.19 million tons (15.5%). In December, for example, 456.7 thousand tons of coal were produced, and from July to November the figure did not fall below 600 tons.

And again to the bad: from 787.8 thousand to 770.1 thousand tons (-2.3%, or by 17.7 thousand tons) the oil production index decreased. And this decline was observed for the fifth month in a row – from 64.7 thousand tons in July to 60.8 thousand in December. This is the lowest figure for the last couple of years!

Nevertheless, Uzbekistan produced 75.4 thousand tons (6%) more motor gasoline in 2023 than in 2022. Diesel fuel output also increased by 212.4 thousand tons (26.6%) to 1.01 million tons.

At the same time, the indicator of heat energy production decreased from 26.5 to 24.4 million Gcal (by 8.1%), and gas condensate production decreased from 1.29 to 1.2 million tons (by 6.9%).

Nevertheless, no matter what problems in the energy sector put sticks in the wheels, according to the Agency of Statistics Uzbekistan managed to achieve a 6% growth in industrial production

23 Jan 2024

Central Asia, Uzbekistan Environment, Environment, Uzbekistan, Local Politics

Uzbekistan Bans Mining Non-Metallic Materials In Rivers

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

From May 1st Uzbekistan will introduce a permanent ban on the mining of non-metallic materials in the riverbeds of the Chirchik, Sangzor, Zarafshan, Naryn, Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya rivers.

Permits to extract sand and gravel materials from river beds and other water areas will only be granted through the electronic trading platform E-Auksion. This proposal was made jointly by the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change and the Ministry of Mines and Geology, and was approved by president Shavkat Mirziyoyev on January 17th. The boundaries of the areas covered by the ban will be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers.

During the moratorium period there will be a tenfold increase in the fines imposed for environmental damage caused to these areas as a result of illegal extraction. These fines will be directed to the country’s ecological fund.

The ban prohibits the extraction of sand and gravel materials in river beds and other water areas, as well as other extraction works on other deposits located in mountainous or foothill (land) areas.

23 Jan 2024

Kazakhstan, Features, Kazakhstan Featurees

Earthquake In Almaty: Residents Speak Of Panic And Damage

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

A magnitude seven earthquake shook Almaty last night, causing panic among local residents. However, some locals have said the situation was not as bad as it was portrayed on social media and in news reports. “They said it was a level seven magnitude earthquake, but my friend lives on the seventh floor and his furniture only wobbled, but nothing fell,” Anastasia, a resident of the city told The Times of Central Asia.

Despite the fact that numerous videos have appeared on the internet showing people in distress and buildings violently shaking, some have claimed that many of the videos are fakes, saying that the shaking was palpable, but did not reach levels that would cause widespread alarm.

“The only thing that caused panic was a severe tremor in residential complexes that made the chandeliers wobble. My family and I drove into the city; traffic was crazy,” Sanjar, a resident living on the outskirts of the city told The Times of Central Asia.

Nevertheless, others spoke of feeling fear and anxiety during the earthquake, with another resident, Raushan telling The Times of Central Asia that ““Just after midnight we felt swaying and tremors, which was especially frightening considering we live on the 12th floor. First, the bed started to shake, and then I noticed the chandelier swinging violently. We quickly ran out of the apartment taking our passports and wallets. The worst part was that we were left with no communication as we had forgotten our phones, so we couldn’t contact our loved ones.”

23 Jan 2024

Central Asia, Life & Culture, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s Top Five Tourist Sites Revealed

June 28, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

According to Kazakhstan’s National Bureau of Statistics, from January to September 2023 more than three million people visited domestic tourist sites, an increase of 344,000 people compared to the same period in 2022.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has named the top five tourist sites in Kazakhstan by visitor numbers. The Almaty mountain cluster was the most popular destination — over 1.7 million people visited this area from January to September last year. The western Mangystau region was in second place, with just under 300,000 people visiting this part of the country. In third place was the Shchuchinsk-Borovoye area (Burabay National Park) in the north of the country, with 243,000 visitors. The list also included two popular summer holiday destinations: the Alakol area (Abay region, in the south) with 204,000 visitors, and Lake Balkhash with 94,000 visitors.

Deputy minister for tourism and sports Erzhan Erkinbayev commented: “Domestic resorts are increasingly popular not only among Kazakhstanis, but also among foreign guests. Unfortunately, the potential of some sites has not yet been fully realized. For example, in the Katon-Karagai national park [the largest national park in Kazakhstan, located in the East Kazakhstan region], the beauty of its nature is not inferior to any of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. However, only 7,800 people visited this place over the first nine months of last year,”

23 Jan 2024

Central Asia, Tajikistan International Affairs, Tajikistan, Tajikistan Business Economy, International Affairs, Business & Economy

President Rahmon Invites Qatari Business to Invest in Tajikistan

October 8, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

During his state visit to Qatar on January 22nd, the president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, held negotiations in Doha with the emir of the state of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

During the meeting, it was proposed to launch joint transport-transit projects in order to expand the logistics networks between the two countries. This will facilitate the transportation of cargo and passengers, as well as transit to other countries, Rahmon’s press service reported.

Also on January 22nd, Rahmon met with Qatar’s business community, expressing his views on a broad scope of cooperation opportunities with leading Qatari companies in the fields of agriculture, transport infrastructure, logistics, civil aviation, and tourism. The president emphasized that the government of Tajikistan is ready to support the proposals of investors to establish cooperation in these priority areas.

In his speech to the Qatari business community, Rahmon spoke about the current economic situation in Tajikistan and the macroeconomic stability ensured in the country. The president said that Tajikistan’s GDP growth rate in the last 20 years has been more than 7% on average, and in 2023 reached 8.3%, while inflation was 3.8%. “Today, more than 720 public investment projects worth more than USD 13.8 billion are under implementation in our country.”

Rahmon said that attracting investments is a priority for the Tajik government, and in this context, vast opportunities for investment have been created, and tax and customs incentives and guarantees are widely applied.

According to Rahmon, Tajikistan’s aluminum production and lithium resources provide for favorable conditions for the production of electric vehicles. “That’s the two main types of materials for the production of electric cars available in our country,” he said.

The president pointed out that industrial production can be another future direction of cooperation, adding that projects in the light industry, food, metallurgy, machine building, chemistry, production of construction materials and pharmaceuticals are a priority for Tajikistan.

Rahmon also mentioned that Tajikistan is rich in mineral resources, with some 800 deposits of minerals, rare and precious metals, including copper, silver, gold, lead, lithium, antimony, nickel, tungsten, vanadium and other rare minerals having been discovered and partially prepared for mining in Tajikistan.

The president added that the reserves of food salt in Tajikistan amount to more than 72 billion tons, which is sufficient to meet the consumption needs of all inhabitants of the planet for this product for more than 300 years.