BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 26. A new reservoir
with a capacity of 28.4 million cubic meters will be built on the
Bolshoy Uzen River in the West Kazakhstan region, Kazakhstan’s
Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurlan Nurgizhitov said
during a meeting with residents of the West Kazakhstan region in
Uralsk on September 25.
According to the ministry’s press service, during the meeting
Nurgizhitov spoke about ongoing work to develop the region’s water
sector.
The project is being implemented in the Kaztalovsky district
with support from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). The
reservoir will provide irrigation for 12,000 hectares of floodplain
lands, with the potential to expand the irrigated area to 20,000
hectares.
During the meeting, it was noted that with IsDB support,
Kazakhstan also plans to reconstruct the Bitik reservoir and four
main canals in the region. These projects will improve water supply
to about 28,500 hectares of land.
All projects will include elements of automated water
accounting, according to the ministry.
“Addressing water-related issues requires joint efforts by
central and local executive bodies, water management organizations
and water users. The projects being implemented in the West
Kazakhstan region are aimed at ensuring stable water supplies,
reducing water losses, improving the efficiency of agricultural
irrigation and protecting settlements from floods,” Nurgizhitov
said.
