In this issue:
Largest New Rail Line since Independence Opens, Will Reduce Transportation Costs,
Save Shipping Time
Senate Approves Incentives for Foreign Investors
Kazakh Troops Get Expanded English Language Training
President Signs Budget
Kazakhstan’s Polyakov Wins 100 Meter Breaststroke at U.S. Open
Try these traditional folk sayings:
I will sacrifice cattle for my life, but I will sacrifice my life for my honor. --- Malym – zhanymnyn sadagasy, Zhanym – arymnyn sadagasy.
Without friends, the world is empty. --- Dossyz omir bos.
Largest New Rail Line Since Independence Opens,
Will Reduce Transportation Costs, Save Shipping Time
A new rail line was opened in North-Western Kazakhstan which will greatly cut travel time between northern and central parts of the country and its oil producing regions in the West. It will sharply reduce transportation costs for freight and passenger traffic alike.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev inaugurated the link, which is the longest new rail line in the country since its independence in 1991 and the largest rail construction project completed in the CIS countries in a decade. At a ceremony on November 30 at the Arka station of the Kostanay region he gave the go-ahead to the first train loaded with grain to roll over the new tracks. The President congratulated railroad workers, builders and citizens from the region as the new rail line from Khromtau to Altynsarino opened. Construction began in September 2002.
The line, known as Khromtau-Altynsarino, cuts 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) of distance from the center and eastern regions to western regions of the country. It reduces the distance passengers need to travel by 1,500 kilometers (approximately 930 miles) and shaves 15 hours from the trip. More than 400 kilometers (250 miles) of mainstream railway was built. The supporting infrastructure includes 11 bridges, 154 water pipelines, and 13 new stations. Eight hundred permanent new jobs were also created.
Because of the peculiar geography, and the history of Soviet rail construction, in the past passengers and cargo traveling between the center of Kazakhstan and western regions had to cross Russia twice, which caused unneeded customs formalities and delays.
The President said goods produced in Northern Kazakhstan, Akmola, Kostanay, and Karaganda regions including grain, meat, and metal can now be delivered directly to the oil producing regions of the country. He said: “Implementation of the industrial and agrarian policy is impossible without development of rail and highway infrastructure. I thank builders and technicians of Zhildorstroy and Avtodorstroy [Kazakh construction companies] who have laid this railway line.”
The new link will help reduce transportation costs of one metric ton of grain to the eastern port of Aktau from grain-producing regions by 20 US dollars. Shipping a ton of metal from Karaganda to the same destination will be cheaper by 14 dollars.
The link will also allow development of new nickel, copper and iron mines which are located along the route. Thousands of new jobs in these industries will be created.
During the opening, the President also announced plans to build two additional rail links, one in Eastern Kazakhstan and another linking the Kzylorda region in the South with the Mangistau region in the West.
Senate Approves Incentives for Foreign Investors
The Senate of Kazakhstan voted on November 30 approving amendments in tax laws which would reduce government’s minimal share in future production sharing agreements (PSAs) in the oil and gas sector. The amendments are seen as a major step towards improving conditions for foreign investors.
According to Reuters, the amendments in the tax laws will reduce the government’s minimal share in PSAs to 10 percent before the investment is recovered, and to 40 percent once that is accomplished. According to the provisions introduced in the tax laws a year ago, the share of the government in production under PSAs should be at least 20 percent before the investment is returned and at least 60 percent afterwards. Foreign companies already working in Kazakhstan thought the old provisions to be too burdensome.
Kairat Kelimbetov, Minister of Economy and Budget Planning, speaking in the Senate while presenting the bill, said it “will allow the Government to conduct negotiations on reaching the appropriate level of profitability for investors, and generally to keep balance of the parties, the investors and the government.” The bill needs to be signed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev to become law.
Speaking to reporters, Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev said late last month adjustments in the tax laws should improve Kazakhstan’s investment climate: “Kazakhstan has a favorable investment climate in general. At the same time, the country needs foreign investment. This is why I believe it is necessary to treat recommendations of foreign investors more carefully so as not to worsen their condition in our country.”
In a related development, President Nazarbayev signed a bill into law on December 2 giving the state the right of first refusal when foreign firms are selling stakes in oil and minerals joint ventures.
Kazakhstan plans to triple its annual oil output to 150 million metric tons (approx. 3 million barrels of oil per day) through the exploration on the Caspian shelf and attracting additional foreign investment. Kazakhstan attracted more than US$26 billion since independence in 1991, and is expected to attract additional billions this year.
Kazakh Troops Get Expanded English Language Training
Kazakh Armed Forces will expand their English language training for officers and soldiers when the new Military Linguistic Institute opens next year.
Kanat Aubakirov, chief of the Linguistic Center of the Ministry of Defense, said on November 26 the new Institute will have departments providing language training for all categories of servicemen, teaching cadets military informational and analytical work and regional studies. Secondary higher education diplomas will be available to officers.
The goal of the Institute, according to Mr. Aubakirov, is to teach all the servicemen “at least conversational English” as Kazakhstan’s military international cooperation constantly expands. The need to speak English is also demanded by the growing participation of Kazakhstan’s troops in peacekeeping operations abroad as well as the acquisition and deployment of high-tech equipment.
The Institute is expected to set up a number of branch offices across the country, including Astana, Aktau, Schuchinsk and Kapshagai.
President Signs Budget
President Nursultan Nazarbayev put his signature on legislation passed by the Parliament inaugurating the 2005 budget on December 1.
The budget, passed by the Parliament on November 15, provides for revenues in the amount of 1.141 trillion tenge (19.5% of GDP expected for 2005), and expenditures in the amount of 1.242 billion tenge (21.2% of GDP). That leaves the budget with a deficit of 101.4 billion tenge, or 1.7% of GDP.
The economy is expected to grow 7.9% to 5.85 trillion tenge next year. The official exchange rate on December 1 was 130.07 tenge to the US dollar.
Kazakhstan Joins UN Pact Fighting Human Trafficking
Yerzhan Kazykhanov, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations has signed the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others and the Convention’s final protocol at UN headquarters in New York.
He was authorized to do so last month by a decree from President Nazarbayev.
In accordance with the provisions of the this international agreement, member countries are bound to take all necessary measures to prevent crimes related to prostitution and human trafficking, and to punish those involved in these crimes. These measures are taken based on close collaboration between the convention member countries and under the UN’s coordination.
The convention was originally adopted in New York on March 21, 1950.
Kazakhstan’s Polyakov Wins 100 Meter Breaststroke at U.S. Open
Vladyslav Polyakov, a native of the northern Kazakhstan city of Petropavlovsk and currently a sophomore at the University of Alabama, won the 100 meter breaststroke at the 2004 U.S. Open Swimming Championships in San Antonio, Texas, this week.
Swimmers from the University of Alabama dominated the field in the
event at the championship, sweeping the top two spots. Polyakov,
21, won the event with a pool record 1:01.94, just off the U.S. Open
meet record. He was followed by sophomore Hunor Mate, who
posted a 1:02.69. The duo finished nearly a second ahead of the
rest of the field.
“Vlad and Hunor swam lights out tonight,” head coach Eric
McIlquham said as he was quoted by RollTide.com, the University
of Alabama Official Athletic Site. “Vlad broke another pool record
while Hunor shaved a second off his life-time best.”
In February 2004, Polyakov already won the U.S. Open Swimming
Championships in both the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke. He also
competed in Athens for Kazakhstan where he came fifth in both
events.
Polyakov says he looks forward to successfully competing at the
2008 Olympics Games in Beijing.
Things to Watch:
- Kazakhstan is getting ready to celebrate our 13th anniversary of independence on December 16.
- Kazakh doctors announce they may have found a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. The technic involves surgically implanting healthy cells into the patient’s liver. Initial results have been very promising.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and agency reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
